A fish with a 'chameleon' ability, the Bumblebee Mouthbrooder can quickly change color from almost black to yellow with stripes!
This attractive fish has definitely been named for its appearance. As a juvenile it has a striped yellow and black 'bumblebee' patterning, so today its commonly called the Bumblebee Mouthbrooder, but is also known as the Hornet Cichlid. The name 'hornet' as well as its scientific species name 'crabo' were derived from the European Hornet Vespa crabro, as both of these species are large sized and have a similar color patterning. Even before these two names though, and before it was scientifically described, it was called Pseudotropheus "chameleo" for its chameleon-like color changing ability.
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder tends to change colors very rapidly, going from an almost totally black fish to a yellowish fish with bold black bars. They use this ability in their “pseudo-symbiotic” relationship with a large cave-dwelling catfish, the Kampango Bagrus meridionalis. In its gold and black barred coloring, the cichlid advertises its cleaning services and is safely allowed to pick parasites from the skin of the catfish. But on a darker note, when these catfish spawn the Bumblebee will turn almost black. Like a thief in the night, they sneakily eat the spawning catfish eggs. If it is seen, it will quickly revert back to the yellow and black color and resume its cleaning duties.
Though not a community tank specimen to be housed with fish other than cichlids, the Bumblebee Mouthbrooder is easy to moderate to care for. They hold their own in an aggressive tank and will eat whatever is available. They can breed easily and unlike some cichlids, the females are quite attractive. They need to be kept in a group of one male to six or more females, with rock formations providing multiple hiding places to ward off brutal aggression from the male. They can also be kept in a very large aquarium of mixed Mbuna with plenty of hiding places, but this cichlid male will be dominant. Success is dependent on the aquarists willingness to do frequent water changes, have sufficient numbers and hiding places, and provide appropriate tank mates.
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder 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.
Distribution:
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder was described by Ribbink and Lewis in 1982. They are found in Lake Malawi, Africa at various sites in the Eccles Reef, West Reef, Chiyamwezi, Mbenji, Chinyankwazi, Maleri, Nkata Bay, and the Likoma and Chisumulu Islands. They live in various habitats but prefer rocks or sand-rock substrates near large boulders, and the interior of large caves. They feed on a different foods as they become available including benthic crustaceans, fry of other fish, fish eggs, and larvae. They have been seen picking the ectoparasite Argulus africanus from a large cave-dwelling species of catfish, the Kampango Bagrus meridionalis.
Status:
This species is listed on the IUCN Red List with the status of 'LC', meaning 'Least Concerned'.
Description:
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder has a thick robust body shape. An adult dominant male is close to a black color with dark blue vertical bars. They will change to almost all black when breeding, with some males showing bright blue speckles on their flank area. Their fins are all dark blue. The female is gold with zig zaggish dark brown vertical bars that fade to gold in the belly area and one brown horizontal bar that runs all the way to the tail. The male can change from their blue/black coloring to all dark, or change to the females coloring when cleaning parasites from a large catfish in the wild. The female can go from her coloring to a black coloring.
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 about 6” (15 cm) with the female being smaller at about 5" (12 cm).
Care and feeding:
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder is an omnivore with a voracious appetite. In the wild they feed on a different foods as they are available including benthic crustaceans, fry of other fish, fish eggs, larvae, and parasites they pick off of a catfish. In the aquarium feed high quality flakes, pellets, spirulina, and prepared cichlid foods. They do need more proteins than other Mbunas because of their natural diet, but they still need vegetable matter to provide fiber in their diet in order to keep their intestinal tract disease free. 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.
Do not over feed as this will result in water spoilage and even an early death. It is not wise to house this fish with other genus of cichlids that eat beef heart or other mammal meat, as these foods can cause intestinal infections and death. Of course, all fish benefit from added vitamins and supplements to their foods.
A 50 gallon tank will work for a single fish. A 100 gallons or more, and at least 5 feet in length, will be needed if housed with other compatible fish. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide a fine gravel or coarse substrate along with lots of rocks and bogwood with multiple hiding places for sub-dominant and brooding fish. Hardy fast growing plants, such as Giant Vallisneria or Cryptocoryne species can also be included.
Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. These fish eat a lot and are messy, so an established filtration system along with water changes of 20 to 40% 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.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: 10 - 18° dH
Ph: 8.0 - 14.0
Temp: 78 - 82° F (26 -28° C)
Social Behaviors:
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder is aggressive and is not considered to be a community fish. In fact, it should only be housed with other aggressive cichlids. These fish need to be kept in a group of one male to six or more females. This will help to spread out the male’s aggression. Lots of cover is needed for the females as it is not uncommon for the male Bumblebee Mouthbrooder to harass them to death. They dominant male will kill any rivals, including subdominant males.
They can also be kept in a very large aquarium of mixed Mbuna with plenty of hiding places, but this cichlid male will be dominant. They are not quite as aggressive as the Kenyi Cichlid Pseudotropheus lombardoi, but will not back down from a fight or be bullied. If overstocking is used as a form of aggression reduction, care should be taken to do several partial water changes a week or up to 40% a week.
Some recommend that they be kept in a species specific tank. This is due to their “cleaning” habits of removing parasites from catfish in the wild. They may sometimes remove the scales from other fish in the aquarium.
Sexual Differences:
Males are larger and have blue markings while the females are smaller and have yellow markings. Males can take on the female coloring, so look at size as well as the anal fin. Males will have two to four clearly pronounced egg spots, females will have a rounded anal fin and only one or two egg spots.
Breeding/Reproduction:
The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder has been bred in captivity. This cichild is a mouthbrooder that needs a harem. They should be given a tank of at least 50 to75 gallons to breed in if kept by themselves, larger if kept with other fish. They are easy to sex, but if you start with a group of several very young juveniles you need to remove sub-dominant males as the dominant male will kill any rivals.
Doing a large water change induces the breeding response. The male will darken to an almost jet black color. He will shake and circle the female to get her to a flat rock in his territory, then the breeding begins. The Bumblebee Mouthbrooder female will lay between 20-60 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 17 to 21 days at about 82° F, the eggs are developed. Keep in mind that the male can be so relentless at harassing the female, that she may just eat her eggs. After the male has established a “home cave”, it may help to form the rockwork in a way that he cannot see past his area so that the females can hide. If all else fails, removing her to an established smaller tank with the same water may prove more successful in getting the fry to live. Some strip the female at 18 days.
Bumblebee Mouthbrooder fry grow very quickly if fed well. The fry are a “bumblebee” pattern and are very cute. The released fry can are good eaters and can initially be fed Cyclopeeze. In a short time, due to their rapid growth, you can change over to crushed flake food. They can also eat eat finely powdered dry foods and brine shrimp nauplii. The female will guard the 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 an easier time surviving until they are too big to eat. The young Bumblebee Mouthbrooders becomes obviously male will need to be removed as the dominant male will kill them. See the description
of how cichlids breed in Breeding
Freshwater Fish.
Availability:
Bumblebee Mouthbrooders are usually found online or in fish stores and run about $2.00 to $8.00 USD, depending on size. These fish may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season.
While the young are really cool looking, do not purchase these fish unless you have appropriate take mates. When acquiring a Bumblebee Mouthbrooder, 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
Additional Information: Clarice Brough, CFS
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