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Nkhomo-benga Peacock

Benga Peacock ~ New Yellow Regal Family: Cichlidae

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Aulonocara baenschi Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   The attractive Nkhomo-Benga Peacock is one of the smaller and more peaceful cichlids!

   The Nkhomo Benga Peacock is a real eye catcher with its bright yellows and vibrant blues. This fish has been bred in captivity and,like all Peacocks, true strains are hard to find unless wild caught or from a reputable dealer. Other names that this fish is known by are New Yellow Regal, Yellow Peacock, Yellow Regal-Buntbarsch, Aulonocara Benga, Benga Aulonocara, Benga Yellow, and New Yellow Regal.

   Because of the mellower temperament of the Nkhomo Benga Peacock, there is a greater selection of tank mates you can keep with this cichlid species. Even when spawning, they are less aggressive! A relatively small sized Peacock, it reaches only about 4 - 5 inches (13 cm). They are also 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 have an almost puppy like excitability when being fed, thus adding to their appeal.

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

Distribution:
   The Nkhomo-Benga Peacock was described by Meyer & Riehl in 1985 and are endemic to Lake Malawi, Africa. The name baenschi comes from Dr. Ulrich Baench who founded the company Tetra.
   They are found in Lake Malawi near Maleri Islands, Chipoka, Nkhomo reef near Benga, and Usisya in areas with sandy bottoms and scattered rocks. Depending on the individual fish, they can be permanent cave dwellers or form large schools over the sand feeding on inverts found therein. Nkhomo-Benga Peacocks inhabit deeper waters than other Malawi cichlids and have special sensory pores on the jaws that help them to find crustaceans in the sand.
   There are 23 Aulonocara species, though other subspecies exist.

Status:
   The species is listed on the IUCN Red List, but with the status of 'LC', meaning 'Least Concern'.

Description:
   The Nkhomo-Benga Peacock actually has limited distribution, so there are not as many color forms as other Peacocks. This fish lives up to 10 years and it is stated that the male can take up to 2 years to get its full gorgeous coloring.
   The males are mostly yellow with blue coloring in different areas of the body to some being mostly blue with yellow coloring. They have a curved forehead and nose and large eyes, thus distinguishing them from the other yellow/blue peacocks such as the Aulonocara stuartgranti “maleri” male. Females are a light grey/silver with vertical brown bands running the length of the body with the dorsal, anal and tail fin being clearish ice blue to clear or light brown, depending on location. The females do seem to have a very faint yellow patch in the front middle area.
   With all the different captive bred colorforms that have been developed in captivity, there is no way to tell exactly what you are getting unless it is from a reputable dealer. There are said to be four color morphs, but there may be more. These four include:

• Located in the Nkhomo/Benga area: This Peacock coloring is the most popular with a basic yellow coloring all over with blue pale vertical stripes. The lower half of the head is blue and the back tail does not seem to have much if any marbling. This one is referred to as the Yellow Regal Cichlid, Yellow Peacock Cichlid and the Sunshine Peacock Cichlid.
• Located in the Chipoka area: This Peacock coloring has an electric blue head, yellow forehead, pelvic fins, anal and dorsal fins and body with several vertical lighter blue bands that begin just behind the pelvic fins and alternate with blue to the tail. The tailfin is marbled in light blue and an orange/yellow.
• Located in the Marleri area: This Peacock coloring is a little different, having a blue head, not just the bottom half. The anal, dorsal, and pelvic fins are yellow as well as the forehead. The body has 13 or more vertical stripes “in the background” that alternate from white and blue. On top of this background are a muted pale yellow. The caudal fin has a mix of blue stripes over an orange coloring.
• Located in the Usisya area: This Peacock coloring is similar to the Marleri, except the vertical stripes are very pale. The dorsal, anal and pectoral fins are very dark blue/black and the tail fin is yellow with blue stripes.
  

   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 Nkhomo-Benga Peacock grows to an average length of about 4-5” (13 cm).

Care and feeding:
   Though the Nkhomo-Benga Peacock is an omnivore it will eat mostly meaty foods. It there are plants in the aquarium it won't touch them. In the wild they feed on a variety of live foods, especially small bottom dwelling invertebrates. In the aquarium 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). 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 minimum 40 gallon aquarium is suggested for a single specimen with 100 gallons being recommended for a school. 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 of the tank. A sandy substrate with smoother rocks is good for hiding and staking out territories. Their large eyes can be injured on sharp rocks. 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 tend to swim in the bottom 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: 10 - 18° dH
   Ph: 7.8 to 8.6
   Temp: 78 - 82° F (25 - 28° C)

Social Behaviors:
  The Nkhomo-Benga Peacock can be kept alone, but does better as a group consisting of one male and 6 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 can kept with their own kind as well as with a mix of other more peaceful similar sized and tempered Malawi cichlids, and a few rainbow fish as well. If in a tank with mates that are unsuitable and too large, they may be eaten (esp. the small females!) or will not get enough to eat. Mbunas are not good tankmates for the Nkhomo-Benga Peacock. Try to not house with other Aulonocaras to prevent hybridization. They can be kept with Utakas and friendly Haplochromis like the Blue Moorii Cyrtocara moorii, Sulphur-Crested Lithobate or Red-top Aristochromis Otopharynx lithobates and the Copadichromis species.

Sexual Differences:
   Males are more colorful with the back part of their dorsal and anal fins being sharper. Females are drabber with darker vertical bars and rounded anal and dorsal 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). All Cichlid parents tend to their young, making them easy to breed.
   For the Nkhomo-Benga Peacock, keep 6 females with one male in a 40 gallon tank for the best breeding success. Males are very rough on the females so there is a need to “spread out” the aggression. The male will display an intense coloration to attract the females. 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..
   It is difficult to witness a spawning of Nkhomo-Benga Peacock 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 20 to 40 of 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. 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.

Buy Peacock Cichlids From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   The Nkhomo-Benga Cichlid pure breed are sometimes found online between $5.00 to $9.00 USD. They are always found in fish stores as long as you know what you are looking for, because they may be 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.

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