''Paretroplus dambabe'' is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

species of cichlid from the Mahavavy du Sud river basin, including Lake Kinkony, in northwestern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae).'' Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Number 314 :1-151 It has declined drastically due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, invasive species and over-fishing. This relatively large and deep-bodied ''

Paretroplus ''Paretroplus'' is a genus of fishes in the cichlid family, all of which are endemic to lakes and rivers of Madagascar. The vast majority are threatened and restricted to the northwestern part of the island.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of t ...

'' reaches almost in length. Although collected as early as the 1960s, it was long confused with '' P. petiti'' and therefore only described as a species in 2002.

In the aquarium

This tends to be an aggressive cichlid, especially during mating. It is important that at least 6 individuals are kept. Otherwise, the risk of having one fish being picked on and killed will increase. They are very easily susceptible to disease Ich.

References

dambabe Freshwater fish of Madagascar Cichlid fish of Africa Fish described in 2002 Fishkeeping Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichlidae-stub