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Blue Moorii

Malawi Blue Dolphin ~ Hump-head Family: Cichlidae

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Cyrtocara moorii Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   Both the male and female Blue Moorii will develop a pronounced bump on their head, thus the common name 'Hump-head'!

   The Blue Moorii comes from Lake Malawi in Africa. It gets to be rather large, up to 10 inches (25.4 cm), and has an overall blue coloring. Besides developing a lump on its head as an adult, it also has a rather elongated snout, so is also commonly known as the Malawi Blue Dolphin and the Hump-head.

   This is a more peaceful fish, but durable enough to keep with the more aggressive and generally smaller mbuna species that are also from Lake Malawi. Like all cichlids, the Blue Moorii is territorial. They have a "harem polygyny" nature, where males maintain a territory with several females, so it is best to keep one male with at least three females. It likes an aquarium with a sandy bottom, some rocks with caves for hiding places, and lots of open swimming space. They will burrow but will not harm plants.

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

Distribution:
   The Blue Moorii, also known as the Malawi Blue Dolphin and the Hump-head, were described by Boulenger in 1902. They are found in Lake Malawi, Africa where they inhabit sandy coastal areas. Imported for the aquarium trade since 1968, most of these fish are wild caught.

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

Description:
  The body of the Blue Moorii is elongated with a somewhat pointed snout, looking similar to that of a dolphin, thus the name Malawi Blue Dolphin. They have an overall blue coloring with varying amounts of black markings on their fins and back, depending upon their place of origin. As adults both the male and female develop a lump on the forehead, a cranial bump.

Size - Weight:
   These fish get up to 10 inches (25.4 cm).

Care and feeding:
   They are omnivorous, so the Blue Moorii will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and tablet foods. They do best with a high protein diet, so feed meaty foods such as beef heart chunks, blood worms, or brine shrimp (either live or frozen). To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food or pellet everyday.

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

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 10-18° dGH
   Ph: 7.2 to 8.8
   Temp: 74-79° F 24-26° C

Social Behaviors:
   They can be a community fish although they are territorial. It is best to keep a male with three or more females in a species tank or with other cichlids that are not overly aggressive, such as the peacock cichlids or the mbuna species from Lake Malawi.

Sexual Differences:
   It is hard to tell the difference between males and females since they both develop a hump on their forehead. The males may be larger, the cranial bump may also be larger, and they may be more brightly colored, but this is not always the case.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Blue Moorii, Blue Lumphead, or Blue Dolphin are egg layers and form matriarchal families. They are mouthbrooders. The female generally lays 20-90 eggs on a smooth rock, then takes them into her mouth.

Buy Blue Moorii Cichlids From LiveAquaria.com

See the description of how these fish breed in Breeding Freshwater Fish, openly polygamous cichlids.

Availability:
   The Blue Moorii, also called Malawi Blue Dolphin and Hump-head, is readily available and usually run between $4.50 - $10.00 USD.

Author: David Brough, CFS

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Latest Comments
We have a colony of blue dolphins and they are very bosy and think they are the kings of our 8ft tank. They are beautiful fish and keep the tank looking lively. donna 2007-09-27
I just got a blue dolphin and it is very territorial. I have one very bossy red zebra and it showed him what's what. They are really nice and well priced. Trigga 2006-06-19
I had three of these "blue beauty of the malawi lake". They are all 3-4 inch in length and I raised them in 55 gallon tank mixed along with blood parrot and other fish. These fish love peace! They never bully or bother any other fish, but I dont know how will they act if the time for spawning had came - maybe they will get naughty! They are the most beautiful blue cichlid from all of other african's mbuna cichlid to me! Rumor said they are slow in growth rate but I dont really care about that... As long as they are healthy and happy, I will love them forever! parrot_moo 2005-10-01
I have three 3 inch blue moorii mixed with many other fish in 55 gallon tank. They are so cute and beautiful! I can't wait until they grow up to be even more beautiful! Rumor said that they are slow in growth rate, but I dont care about that as long as they live happily and healthy. I will love them forever! parrot_moo 2005-09-30

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