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Aulonocara Fort Maguire

Red Shoulder Peacock

Family: CichlidaeAulonocara hansbaenschiPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   The Aulonocara Fort Maguire is gorgeous in any of its natural colorings!

   The Aulonocara Fort Maguire is a beautiful fish with great combinations of oranges to reds and electric blues! This species has a variety of different natural hues, giving an aquarist a choice of color. However this fish has been bred in captivity and has been so inbred that true strains are hard to find unless wild caught or from a reputable dealer. Other names that this fish is known by are Aulonocara "Red Flush", Firebird Cichlid, Red Shouldered Peacock, and Malawi Peacock.

   A moderately sized Peacock, the Aulonocara Fort Maguire reaches about 6 inches (15cm). They are easy to care for, thus making them a desirable pet. Provide open space for swimming and a lot of caves in which to hide, sleep, or breed. Water changes that are frequent also help in keeping this cichlid. They will eat a meaty diet and are one of the most carnivorous of the cichlids. These cichlids have an almost puppy like excitability when being fed and will push to be first in line at dinner time!

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire were described by Meyer, Riehl and Zetzsche in 1987 and are endemic to Lake Malawi, Africa. They are found in the southern part of Lake Malawi between Masinje and Fort Maguire. They hide in caves and prefer zones where rocks and sand mix. As with all Peacocks, they inhabit deeper waters than other Malawi cichlids and have special sensory pores on the jaws that help them to find crustaceans in the sand. They are one of the most carnivorous of the cichlids.
   There are 23 Aulonocara species, though other subspecies exist.

Status:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire is listed on the IUCN Red List as VN - meaning Vulnerable.

Description:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire, like many of the Peacock cichlids, has a variety of different natural colorations. The basic male is blue with a wide red to orange/yellow band that is located just behind the gills. The top of the band tends to be more red and as the band lowers to the pelvic fins, can turn to a more yellow/orange. The have several vertical bars that are a dark brownish color from behind the wide band of red to the tail. The fins are all blue and tipped in white or ice blue. The face is blue with a hint of the red/orange coloring dotted throughout. Tail fin is mottled in the brown/red and blue coloring. Anal fin has egg spots that are sometimes hard to see.
   Females are beige with brown vertical bands. Other brown areas on the females are at the very back end of the dorsal near the tail fin, the tail fin, and the anal fin (which is rounded). The facial area is a lighter brown as well. Juveniles are an burnt orange color mixed with turquoise blue with the fins having dots and dashes of turquoise as well. The chin and pelvic fins are turquoise and the anal fin is clear with orange egg spots.This fish may live 6 to 10 years.
   All cichlids share a common feature that some saltwater fish such as wrasses and parrotfish have and that is a well-developed pharyngeal set of teeth that are in the throat, along with their regular teeth. Cichlids have spiny rays in the back parts of the anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins to help discourage predators. The front part of these fins are soft and perfect for precise positions and effortless movements in the water as opposed to fast swimming.
   Cichlids have one nostril on each side while other fish have 2 sets. To sense "smells" in the water, they suck water in and expel the water right back out after being "sampled" for a short or longer time, depending on how much the cichlid needs to "smell" the water. This feature is shared by saltwater damselfish and cichlids are thought to be closely related.

Size - Weight:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire grows to an average length of 6 inches (15 cm).

Care and feeding:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire is one of the most carnivorous of the cichlids. In the wild they feed on small sand-dwelling invertebrates. Provide them with a meaty diet; pellets, frozen and freeze-dried daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp are excellent choices. Avoid tubifex worms as they contribute to a disease called "Malawi bloat." You can also use shrimp mixes (the European Shrimp Mix is cheaper than prepared foods and just as nutritious). No mammal meat. Feed once a day when young and 5 to 6 times a week when adults unless they are breeding. Avoid the desire to feed this fish more often than it needs, as this will keep the water quality higher over a longer time.
   A 55 gallon aquarium is okay for one of these fish but 100 gallons is suggested when keeping more, and at least 3' long. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide open space with plenty of swimming room on the bottom and middle of the tank, and also provide rock work for refuge. They prefer subdued lighting.
   Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. As these are messy fish, do water changes of 20 to 50% a week depending on bio load. Malawi bloat is a typical disease, along with other diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:    These fish will swim in the bottom and middle areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:    Crushed coral can help keep the PH up. However a higher PH means that ammonia is more lethal, so water changes are a must for these fish.
   Hardness: near 10° dH
   Ph: 7.7 to 8.6
   Temp: 73 - 84° F (23 - 29° C)

Social Behaviors:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire is best kept alone in a 55 gallon tank, or as a group of one male and several females in a 100 gallon tank. They are peaceful toward those of the same species as long as it is not 2 males, unless tank is very large and can support different territories.
   This fish is best kept with their own kind as they are much more peaceful than other Malawi cichlids. Try to not house with other Aulonocaras to prevent hybridization. Can be kept with other peaceful Malawi cichlids as long as they are a different shape though a similar size.

Sexual Differences:    Males are larger and more colorful with pointed dorsal and anal fins. The females are smaller and drab with rounded dorsal and anal fins.

Breeding/Reproduction:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire has been bred in captivity. Never house fry from different strains in the same tank, as it will be almost impossible to tell the fry and juveniles apart (until they grow). For the Aulonocara Fort Maguire, keep several females with one male for the best breeding success. The male will display an intense coloration to attract the females.
   All Cichlid parents tend to their young, making them easy to breed. They should have their own breeding tank as a couple guarding their babies can be a force to reckon with and this aggression is acted out on other tank mates. A 100 gallon tank is suggested.
   It is difficult to witness a spawning of Aulonocara Fort Maguire because it is done secretly in a cave. They are mouthbrooders. This is where the females will lay their eggs and then pick them up in their mouths, after which, they pick at the male's anal fin to get him to produce "milt" or sperm. The female will then take this milt into her mouth and the eggs are fertilized at that time. She will carry them in her mouth until the fry are old enough to be able to feed on their own. With other Peacocks this takes around 21 days so it is assumed the same is true for this fish. She will nibble and eat next to nothing during this time
   Try and keep the different species blood lines pure. If this does not happen, pure strains can be lost permanently, unless more are wild caught, thus depleting our natural resources. The Aulonocara Fort Maguire is listed as vulnerable, which means someday this fish may be hard to find and keeping blood lines pure is stressed by all literature and any web site dedicated to keeping cichlid species pure. To prevent cross breeding, make sure if you have more than one type of Cichlid and that they are very different in shape. See more information on breeding cichlids in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:    The Aulonocara Fort Maguire pure breeds are sometimes found online between $5.00 USD for juveniles and up to $10.00 USD for adults, all depending on coloring. They are always found in fish stores as long as you know what you are looking for, because they may be just listed under "peacock" to the uneducated eye. They may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season.

Author: Carrie McBirney.

Lastest Comments on Aulonocara Fort Maguire View all 1 comments on Aulonocara Fort Maguire Add Your Comment

quicky2g - 2011-01-18 I had 2 of them. The smaller of the 2 got picked on a bit by the larger. I'm trying to get an all-male cichlid tank with a variety of different mbuna's, peacock's, and hap's so I traded the less dominant one. I tried moving the 2nd one I had to a different tank for different color mixing and it died 2-3 weeks later and I never determined why. He wasn't getting picked on and kept eating the same food with very similar water conditions. I wish I still had that one though. They are very fun and lively fish with great color. Reply

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