''Sciaenochromis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

haplochromine __NOTOC__ The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus (''Haplochromis'') plus a number of closely related genera such as '' Aulonocara'', '' Astat ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. The species are popular in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

hobby, most notably '' S. fryeri''. Only males possess the impressive, electric blue coloration, while females are dull grey, and generally similar to the females of ''

Aulonocara ''Aulonocara'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. All ''Aulonocara'' species are maternal mouth brooders. Particularly in the aquarium hobby, ''Aulonocara'' species are also known as peacock cichlids, a ...

'' species. All ''Sciaenochromis'' are piscivores (fish-eaters) and prey mainly upon the fry of

mbuna Mbuna (pronounced Mmm-boo - nah ) is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi, and are members of the haplochromine family. The name ''mbuna'' means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga people of Malawi.Loiselle ...

and other haplochromine cichlids.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus:

In the aquarium

Like all

cichlids Cichlids are fish from the family (biology), family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses (Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have c ...

from

, they are best maintained in

hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

water. ''Sciaenochromis'' are best kept in tanks with volumes greater than 210 L (55 gal). This is an aggressive fish, and the minimum tank size of 210 litres is only acceptable with a trio of 1 male and 2 females. When more than one male is kept, experts recommend a minimum tank size of being the minimum. Males can also display aggression towards similarly-coloured fish of other species, for example ''

'' or ''

Placidochromis ''Placidochromis'' is a genus of cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. They are part of the haplochromine lineage of Lake Malawi's cichlid taxa. Most ''Placidochromis'' species live in the open or sandy regions of the lake. Species ...

''. its better to be careful having an 'Electric Blue Hap' in an aquarium.

References

Haplochromini * Fishkeeping Cichlid genera Taxa named by Ethelwynn Trewavas {{Cichlidae-stub