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Blue Daktari

Pseudotropheus sp. “Daktari” Family: Cichlidae

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Pseudotropheus sp. "Daktari" Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   The word 'daktari' is said to mean 'doctor' in Swahili, thus the Blue Daktari is also known as the Doctor's Fish!

   The Pseudotropheus sp. “Daktari” or Blue Daktari is becoming more readily available. It is called by a couple of rather dissimilar common names, as can be seen by the name Doctor's Fish. The male Blue Daktari is a beautiful bright yellow color with some having a bit of blue, and the female is more of a pinkish tan. But both have black trim on the top and bottom edge of the tail fin, lending to another descriptive name, the Scissor Tail Cichlid. But no matter what it is called, this is a smaller Mbuna making it easier to house. It also has a decent temperament if housed correctly. With its striking color and ease of breeding, it is a great addition to a Mbuna tank.

   Though easy to moderate to care for, the Blue Daktari is not a community tank specimen to be housed with fish other than cichlids. A minimum sized tank that is at least 36” long with one male and several females along with a lot of hiding places is needed for success. Provide lots of passageways and caves formed with piles of rocks. Like other Mbunas, they may dig so make sure the rocks sit on the bottom of the aquarium not on the substrate. Arranging the rocks in a manner to make “territories” will help ease aggression, as will keeping them in a larger aquarium with other Mbuna species. Success is dependent on the aquarists willingness to do frequent water changes, have sufficient hiding places, and provide appropriate tank mates.

   The Blue Daktari is in a group of cichlids called Mbunas. There are 12 genera full of very active and aggressive personalities. The Mbuna's have been bred in captivity and with all the different hybrids that have been formed, there is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer. Try and keep the different species blood lines pure.

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

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Distribution:
   Though these fish were collected 10 to 15 years ago, the Blue Daktari is not yet scientifically described. It is currently known as Pseudotropheus sp. "Daktari”. They are found in Lake Malawi, Africa inhabiting the southern part between the Undu Reef and Liutche. They like areas between sand and rock, near boulders where they feed on auwfuchs and other vegetation. Aufwuchs refers to tough stringy algae that is attached to rocks. “Loose” Aufwuchs can contain insect larvae, nymphs, crustaceans, snails, mites and zooplankton.

   The genus Pseudotropheus was formerly used for a variety of Lake Malawi mbuna species.  Recent revisions split the genus into three sub-genera: Pseudotropheus Pseudotropheus, Pseudotropheus Tropheops, and Pseudotropheus Metriaclima. (There is some debate on the naming of this last sub-genera, these fish may be found described as either Metriaclima or Maylandia.)

Status:
   This species status is unknown, though like most Mbuna could be either 'Vulnerable' or of 'Least Concern'.

Description:
   The Blue Daktari has the typical Mbuna elongated 'torpedo' body shape. The male is a beautiful yellow color with an orange-yellow coloring along the back. There are some populations that also have blue in the body. They can have a few light blue scales here and there. The fins are a bright yellow, with the tail fin having black trim on the top and bottom edges. The anal fin has a black edge at the bottom with egg spots at the area closer to the body. The eyes are not yellow, but a silver color with a black center. The female has the same black edging on the the top and bottom of the tail fin, but she is a pinkish tan to tan-gray color. Juveniles are a pinkish tan color. They can live up to 8 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 male grows to a length of 4” (10 cm) with the female being smaller at about 3" (8 cm). In captivity they can grow larger.

Care and feeding:
   The Blue Daktari is an omnivore that in the wild feeds on auwfuchs and other vegetation. In captivity they need vegetable matter which provides fiber in their diet to keep their intestinal tract disease free. Feed a high quality flake, pellets, spirulina, and other preparations for herbivore cichlids. It is always better to feed them small amounts several times a day instead of one large feeding. This keeps the water quality higher for a longer period of time. Of course, all fish benefit from added vitamins and supplements to their foods. It would not be wise to house this fish with other genus of cichlids that eat beef heart or other mammal meat, as these foods will cause intestinal infections and death in these fish.
   A minimum 50 gallons that is 36" in length is recommended for a species specific tank, with a 100 gallons or more for a mixed Mbuna tank. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide lots of passageways and caves formed with piles of rocks. Like other Mbunas, they may dig so make sure the rocks sit on the bottom of the aquarium not on the substrate. Arranging the rocks in a manner to make “territories” will help ease aggression.
   Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. As these are messy fish, an established filtration system along with water changes of 30 to 50% a week depending on bioload , is needed for their health. Malawi bloat is a typical disease especially if their dietary needs are not met with quality foods. It is caused by too much protein matter. They can contract other diseases that ail all freshwater fish.

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

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   The streams that flow into Lake Malawi have a high mineral content. This along with evaporation has resulted in alkaline water that is highly mineralized. Lake Malawi is known for its clarity and stability as far as PH and other water chemistries. It is easy to see why it is important to watch tank parameters with all Lake Malawi fish. A higher PH means that ammonia is more lethal, so water changes are a must for these fishes. A very slow acclimation to different PH levels can sometimes be achieved.
   Hardness: hard
   Ph: 7.8 - 8.6
   Temp: 78 - 82° F (26 - 28° C)

Social Behaviors:
   The Blue Daktari is semi-aggressive and is not considered to be a community fish. However it can be kept in a community cichlid aquarium under the right conditions. It is best kept in groups of one male and several females, six or more females are suggested to spread out the male’s aggression. Provide a lot of hiding places for the females.
   They can be kept with other less aggressive cichlids from Malawi that are not similar in coloring or shape. They are aggressive toward similar looking males of a different species. If overstocking is used as a form of aggression reduction, care should be taken to do several partial water changes a week. One author reports housing a harem of Blue Daktari with six Haplochromis ishmaeli and six Blue Moorii Cyrtocara moorii.

Sexual Differences:
   Males are bright yellow with black edging on their tails, are larger, and have egg spots on the anal fin. Females have the same tail pattern, but are a pink-tan color.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Blue Daktari has been bred in captivity. It is a mouthbrooder that needs a harem. They should be given a tank of at least 50 gallons to breed in if kept by themselves, larger if kept with other cichlids. Start with 6 to 8 fry, and in 10 to 12 months the dominant male will color up and take over. They breed like other mouthbrooding Mbunas and the females are very good at holding their young. Mbunas spawn in the male’s territory. The male changes his color to an intense exaggeration of his original coloring that almost looks like a double exposed picture.
   The Blue Daktari female will lay between 10 - 60 eggs and then immediately take them into her mouth. The male will then flare out his anal fin which has an 'egg spot' patterning. The female mistakes the patterning for her own eggs and tries to take them in her mouth as well. This stimulates the male to discharge sperm (milt cloud) and the female inhales the cloud of 'milt', thus fertilizing the eggs.
   In 14 to 21 days at about 82° F, the eggs are developed. The released pinkish-tan fry are good eaters and can be fed Cyclopeeze. In about 5 days you can change over to crushed flake food. They can also eat finely powdered dry foods and brine shrimp nauplii. The female will guard her young for a few days, even taking them into her mouth if there is a perceived threat. As long as you have plenty of hiding places, your young will have a easier time surviving until they are too big to eat. See the description of how cichlids breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   The Blue Daktari is usually available online and is sometimes found in fish stores. They range between $3.00 to $15.00 USD, depending on size. These fish may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season, and can sometimes be obtained from members of the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association.
   When acquiring a Blue Daktari, with all the different hybrids that have formed in captivity, there is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer.

Author: Carrie McBirney

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