Description

The Crimson Tide cichlid, Astatotilapia latifasciata, is approaching extinction in its
natural environment of Lake Victoria due to human pressure from commercial fishing
and pollution in the lake system. Both male and females have black vertical bars on
their flanks, with males being much more colourful. Males will develop a
yellow/golden body with tinges of green showing towards the tail and a bright red
underbelly that will spread up onto the gill plates and sides of the body towards the
head. The dorsal fin will have shades of iridescent blue topping them off and the
collection of colours makes them a bright addition to the aquarium. Females will
exhibit a yellow body that will turn into a deep golden colour when they are breeding.
These bright, colourful and lively medium sized cichlids are very well suited to life in
an aquarium, and as such are common in the aquarium industry.
In the aquarium they are quite easy to care for and are generally a quite well
behaved cichlid. They can happily be kept in an African community tank or a
species specific tank. In a community tank it is best practise to house only males to
avoid any aggression that rises with breeding behaviour, and in a species specific
tank it is best to have several females to the one male, as the males can be overly
anxious to continue breeding if there is only 1 or 2 females. They are a maternal
mouthbrooder and the female will hold the fry in her mouth for 21 – 25 days.
They are omnivores and should be fed a balanced diet and are generally voracious
feeders. Suitable tankmates would include similar sized haplochromine and mbuna
species from Lake Malawi. Avoid any of the more aggressive species and these fish
will reward you with a lively and happy greeting each time you approach the tank.

PH – 7.5 – 8.5
Temp – 23 to 28 degrees
Water type – Hard