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Blue MooriiMalawi Blue Dolphin ~ Hump-headFamily: Cichlidae Cyrtocara mooriiPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank SchneidewindLatest Reader Comment - See More My guy loves to swim around with our breeding pair of aceis. I think he thinks he's one of them amber Both the male and female Blue Moorii will develop a pronounced bump on their head, thus the common name 'Hump-head'!Blue moorii Contents 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: |
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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.
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.
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