Red Fin Kadango

Distribution:
   The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin were described by Iles in 1960. They are found in Lake Malawi, Africa where they swim near rocky areas, over large boulders, or in open waters. They will school in shallow waters at rocky islands over a sandy substrate to feed on zooplankton.

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

Description:
  The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin have the general shape of Peacock cichlids with a few variations. The most commonly known variety is the “Gold Fin” with the male being red in the body, blue face and blue fins. Female is silver with orange anal and pectoral fins, with a tipping of orange on the top of the dorsal fin. They have several very faint vertical lines from the head to the caudal area. Lake Malawi fish live to an average of 7 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.

   Other color descriptions of the Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin depend on location within Lake Malawi. Here are a few:

• Kadango or Red Fin: The male is blood red to maroon in the body area with a blue face, and dark fins tipped in blue. The female is silver with orange fins. The dorsal and caudal are just outlined in orange with the anal and pectoral fins being all orange with a trim of silver.
• Liuli: The male has a blue face, dorsal and tail fin. The anal fin is gold with mottling of blue and the pectoral fin extends the entire length of the body. The pectoral fin is gold in the area close to its body and light blue in the last 2/3rds. The body is gold with the scales being edged in blue and it has 3 dark spots; one on the top middle of the back, one just above the middle area of the anal fin, and one right in the middle of the caudal peduncle.
• Sambia Reef: The male is all dark blue with a light blue trim on the top of the dorsal. The tail fin is dark with light blue tips on top and bottom parts of the fin. 2/3rds of the anal fin is dark where it touches the body with the remainder being yellow. The pectoral fin is dark with light blue trim, almost extending the length of the body.

Size - Weight:
   These fish grow to a length of 6 or 7 inches (15 -17 cm), sometimes larger in home aquaria.

Care and feeding:
   The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin is a planktivore and will readily accept prepared foods with a lot of protein. They will eat spirulina flake, brine shrimp flake, and pellet food is good for the larger fish. If housing with cichlids that eat primarily a vegetable diet, be sure those fish do not consume the diet for this Utaka. This species diet must be high protein and will cause Malawi Bloat in herbivores and some omnivores that need mostly vegetable matter. 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 75 gallons and 5 feet long is suggested. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Sand used for saltwater fish or freshwater can be used, and if these fish are kept with a higher PH the saltwater sand can help keep the PH up. The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin likes rocks for comfort, but enjoys open swimming areas as well. They prefer low to moderate light levels with places to hide.
   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 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 top and middle 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.
   These numbers are based on Lake Malawi’s statistics. A very slow acclimation to different PH levels can sometimes be achieved.
   Hardness: 6 - 10° dH
   Ph: 7.7 to 8.6
   Temp: 73 - 82° F (23 -28° C)

Social Behaviors:
   This fish is not considered to be a community fish. The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin rarely shows aggression to other tank mates except during mating when the male defends his territory. Even then, the male is more “bark” than bite. They should not be housed with aggressive cichlids or Mbunas. Can be housed with peaceful Lake Malawi cichlids such as Aulonocara and other peaceful Haps. Avoid keeping fish of similar size and color to keep aggression to a minimum, they are said to fight with any blue colored fish in the tank. To avoid hybridization, do not mix species.
   They are best kept in groups of one male and several females. The males are very gentle with the females and they will even school together if there is a larger group (1 male and 4 or more females). Since the male is not overbearing, other male cichlids of similar shape such as Peacocks may try to breed with his females.

Sexual Differences:
   Males are larger and more colorful. Females are silver, typically having orange on at least some of their fins.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin has been bred in captivity. The male is ready to breed at about 1 year. He will defend a spawning area, which seems to change from spawn to spawn. He will pick an area next to a rock and spawning will begin. Once he has attracted one of the females, they will spawn on the vertical part of a large boulder or use fine sand on top of a boulder.
   The female is a mouth brooder and can carry up to 60 eggs. The eggs take a little longer than the typical 21 days. They can take just over 3 weeks to hatch. The fry are dark gray with yellow or orange fins, depending on location your Utaka was captured from. The young are slow to grow. See the description of how cichlids breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Buy Haplochromis Borleyi From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   The Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin are often found online for around $7.00 for juveniles. They are usually found in fish stores, though may be special ordered if you are willing to wait for them if they are out of season.
   When acquiring a Haplochromis Borleyi Redfin, 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