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Venustus

Giraffe Hap Family: Cichlidae

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Nimbochromis venustus Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   Because of its looking and intelligence, the Venustus or Giraffe Hap has long been a favorite of cichlid loving aquarists!

   The Venustus, also called the Giraffe Hap, is generally easy to care for as long as the aquarist realizes their predatory nature and need for a lot of space. They are not as demanding as far as water quality compared to most cichlids. They do need to be fed properly to avoid Malawi bloat. These fish get up to 10” in captivity, but their interesting behavior makes it a favorite among cichlid lovers. They will lay in the sand, partially covered playing dead. When a smaller fish comes to “taste” the “dead” fish, the Venustus jumps to life to consume unwary fish. They will even lay near a cave where there are young juvenile fish!

   The Venustus is moderately aggressive. Provide a minimum of 125 gallons with one male and several females since spawning males are very aggressive. During spawning their color display rivals saltwater fish in its intensity and beauty. If another male from this genus is also kept in the aquarium, such as the Livingstonii Nimbochromis Livingstoni, it will still keep its bright spawning colors.

   Other common names or different spellings these fish are known by are Mbuna and Giraffe Cichlid. There are over 200 Haplochromis in Lake Malawi. They are different from the Mbuna (means rock) in the way that they prefer open swimming areas where the rocks meet the sand. Do not mix with the overactive and aggressive mbunas. Try and keep the different species blood lines pure.

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

Distribution:
   The Venustus or Giraffe Hap was described by Boulenger in 1908, originally as Haplochromis venustus but reclassified to Nimbochromis venustus in 1989. They are endemic to Lake Malawi and are found in most areas of this lake down to a depth of 50 feet (15 m). They are found near rocks with open sandy areas, and use a “possum” technique to catch small fish. The juveniles swim in schools.

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

Description:
   The body of the Venustus or Giraffe Hap is stocky and elongated. The male can range from a solid gold with a blue face or be all blue. But all will have the “giraffe” patterning faded in the background and a yellow to tan stripe starting at the nose and running along the top of the dorsal. Females and juveniles are a lighter beige coloring with the brownish “giraffe” spotting being more pronounced. The female has a hint of gold on the head area, an anal fin that is yellow on the bottom half and a tail fin that is clear on top and yellow on the bottom half. Her dorsal fin is tipped in a lighter color too. The juvenile looks the same as the female but their background is a little lighter, almost a silver white color. This fish can live up 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 Venustus grows to a length of 9” (25 cm), sometimes larger in home aquaria.

Care and feeding:
   The Venustus are omnivorous, but in the wild they habitually feed on fish so can be considered a piscivore. In the aquarium they do best with a high protein diet. They can be fed live or frozen food, freeze dried krill, pellets, and other high quality foods for piscivores. Occasionally feed mysis and feeder fish, though feeder fish can initiate hunting instincts and cause more aggression. They need herbivorous foods as well to balance out their diet. Young up to 3 to 4” can be fed flake, but after that flake is too messy and will foul the water. Adults do best when fed frozen foods twice a week. They will eat to the point of their stomach being distended, so be very careful to not overfeed.
   A minimun 70 gallon tank when small, but because they grow quickly and have an aggressive nature, 125 gallons is suggested. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Poor water quality will ruin their eyes. Keeping the Ph above neutral is important. They can tolerate any Ph above neutral, but a Ph level of 8 is best. A sand substrate will make them feel most at home. Sand used for saltwater fish or freshwater can be used. If keeping them with a higher Ph, the saltwater sand can help keep the Ph up. If you use a rough substrate they will be scratched up due to their nature of burying themselves.
   Open space is a must for the Venustus! There can be some rock work and wood that is placed to provide a lot of holes for hiding places. Most importantly there needs to be a lot of swimming areas along the middle and bottom of the tank. They like to dig so make sure the rocks sit on the bottom of the aquarium not on the substrate. They will spawn using a pit close to a rock. They eat the leaves of flesh plants, though there are few plants they will not eat, they tend to dig, so plants need to be anchored.
   Malawi Cichlids will deteriorate under poor water conditions. Water changes of 10% to 20% a week depending on bioload. Malawi bloat is a typical disease especially if over fed and there is a lack of some herbivorous foods that are high quality. 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: 6 - 10° dH
   Ph: 7.7 - 8.6 (Venustus can tolerate ph close to, but above 7.0, and prefer 8.0)
   Temp: 73 - 82° F (23 -28° C).

Social Behaviors:
   The Venustus is not considered to be a community fish. They are voracious predators, but they are only moderately aggressive accept when spawning. They do best in a species specific tank or with other cichlids. Some aquarists report severe aggressiveness, which could be due to inadequate housing. They should not be kept with Mbunas (smaller rock dwelling cichlids). Some have put them with others of they same genus, though in very large systems to promote the spawning colors.
   The Venustus is best kept in groups of one male and several females. They will shoal together if there are quite a few (6 to 8 adults in 125 gallons). They will attack and kill any other males of the same species in the tank unless the tank is large. If overstocking is used as a form of aggression reduction, care should be taken to do several partial water changes a week. Do not put this fish with peaceful cichlids.

Sexual Differences:
   Males have brighter blue or yellow coloring with muted patterning, and females are blander in color with more pronounced patterning.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Venustus has been bred in captivity. It is suggested to get a group of six to eight juveniles and let them grow up together. They like a flat stone or slate to lay their eggs. Make sure this breeding site is not near a strong water flow since the eggs are externally fertilized.
   Being a mouth brooder the female will pick up the eggs into her mouth for incubation. She will carry 60 to 120 eggs for over a month, and will allow the hatched fry to hide in her mouth for up to 10 days, after which they are on their own. If the tank is very “busy” she may let the eggs go too soon, so you may have to strip her of all eggs a few days after spawning and incubate them for around 13 days. On her own, she will hold them in her mouth for about 2 weeks.
   This would be a good time to take them out of the tank as the male has no qualms about eating his children! They fry can eat cyclopeeze and finely crushed flake. They will color up like the female in a short time and grow quickly. In a species specific tank, adding a young male is asking for trouble, though in a mixed tank, you can sometimes get away with more than one subordinate male. See the description of how cichlids breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Buy Venustus From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   Venustus, also known as the Giraffe Hap, are usually found online for around $8.00 to $20.00 USD. Price is dependent on whether they are male, female, or juvenile. 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 Venustus, 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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Latest Comments
Hello, I am having a problem with my giraffe hap....He has lost his color, not eating and his mouth is opening and closing rapidly. He hides out in a corner now and is not eating. I am so worried for him, please help if you have any idea whats going on. ranee 2008-07-27
Love this fish! Very personable and learns the difference between human family members and visitors. Fairly easy to maintain and pretty hardy. Beautiful color, changes before your eyes! Anonymous 2007-10-17
Some of the coolest comments:
Went from a community tank of small fish to a single 6" Venustus and I've been glad I did ever since. Beautiful colors with blue on bottom, yellow on top and "giraffe" pattern on sides. Active, alert and aware of what's going on outside the tank. My fish let's me know when he's hungry by facing toward me as I walk through the room - can see me 3-5' away from tank. Very hardy fish, but not bullet-proof. Keep the tank clean and he'll be happy and healthy. Tony 2008-04-13

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