Mbuna (pronounced Mmm-boo - nah ) is the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

for a large group of African

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 ...

s from

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 ...

, and are members of the haplochromine family. The name ''mbuna'' means "rockfish" in the language of the

Tonga people of Malawi The Tonga (also called ''Batonga, Lake Shore Tonga'' or ''Nyasa Tonga'') are an ethnic group living in northern Malawi on the shores of Lake Malawi in Nkhata Bay and northern part of Nkhotakota. Their language and Tonga people of Zambia and Zimba ...

.Loiselle Paul V. (1988) ''A Fishkeepers Guide to African Cichlids.'' p 97. Salamander Books, London & New York, . As the name implies, most mbuna are cichlids that live among the piles of rocks and along the rocky shores of Lake Malawi, as opposed to the

utaka image:Copadichromis_azureus.jpg, ''Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlids found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among ...

, cichlids that live in the open water or on sandy shores or soft substrates. Some species of mbuna are highly

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

, although many are not. Among biologists, almost all of the cichlid species of Lake Malawi, including mbuna and non mbuna such as the utaka, are believed to have descended from one or a very few species that became isolated in the lake. With rising water levels, new habitats could be colonized and the many isolated rocky outcrops allowed new mbuna species to form.Givnish, T.J.; and K.J. Sytsma, editors (1997). Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation, p. 598. . Their striking colors, intriguing behavioral characteristics, and relative hardiness make them very popular despite their unique demands for the home

aquarist An aquarist is a person who manages aquariums, either professionally or as a hobby. They typically care for aquatic animals, including fish and marine invertebrates. Some may care for aquatic mammals. Aquarists often work at public aquariums. They ...

Mbuna in aquaria

These cichlids are some of the most colorful

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

fish for the home

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 ...

. Mbuna are very aggressive and territorial fish, they are not suitable for beginner fishkeepers. A suitable aquarium setting includes many rocks, adequate filtration, caves, and hiding places; plants may be uprooted, so they are best avoided, but a small number will work well in the aquarium. One of these is Java fern, which may become the object of mbuna aggression, but will not be eaten due to an undesirable taste.

Social behavior

Mbuna exhibit strong social behavior and establish a clearly visible social hierarchy including well-defined and enforced territories. A dominant male maintains a spherical territory, only allowing females to enter this territory for breeding purposes. Overcrowding helps spread out the aggression caused by these territorial conflicts. They, like ''

Astatotilapia burtoni ''Astatotilapia burtoni'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found in Lake Tanganyika and its surrounding waterways, including parts of Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent r ...

'', are maternal

mouthbrooder Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

s and breed readily in good conditions.

Water parameters

All species from Lake Malawi thrive in the temperature range of 77-84 °F. pH 7.5-8.4 is ideal with an almost pristine (near 0 ppm)

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...

and

ammonium nitrite Ammonium nitrite, , is the ammonium salt of nitrous acid. It is not used in pure isolated form since it is highly unstable and decomposes into water and nitrogen, even at room temperature. Preparation Ammonium nitrite forms naturally in the air an ...

content.

Notable mbuna cichlids

Many mbuna cichlids are regularly stocked and sold by pet shops. Some of the most common ones are the Bumblebee Cichlid or Hornet Cichlid (''

Pseudotropheus crabro ''Pseudotropheus crabro'', the Bumblebee Cichlid or Hornet Cichlid, is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it is found in different habitats but most frequently in large caves or in the vicinity of large boulders. This species can ...

''), Golden Cichlid (''

Melanochromis auratus ''Melanochromis auratus'', the auratus cichlid, is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family. It is also known as golden mbuna and Malawi golden cichlid. It is endemic to the southern region of Lake Malawi, particularly from Jalo Reef southward ...

''), Electric Yellow or Yellow Lab Cichlid (''

Labidochromis caeruleus ''Labidochromis caeruleus'' is a species of cichlid endemic to the central western coastal region of Lake Malawi in East Africa. It is also known as lemon yellow lab, the blue streak hap, the electric yellow or yellow prince, depending on the co ...

''), Red Zebra Cichlid (''

Maylandia estherae ''Maylandia estherae'' (the Red Zebra mbuna, Red Zebra Cichlid , or Esther Grant's Zebra) is a haplochromine cichlid. It is a rock dwelling fish or mbuna from Lake Malawi. This fish, like most cichlids from Lake Malawi, is a mouthbrooder - fem ...

''), Blue Zebra Cichlid (''

Maylandia callainos ''Maylandia callainos'' (sometimes referred to as cobalt zebra, cobalt blue mbuna or cobalt blue zebra cichlid) is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where they only occurred naturally in Nkhata Bay though it has now been introduced to o ...

''), and Blue Johannii '' Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos''. Many of these species are considered to have large territorial needs and aggressively defend these territories. Cichlids belonging to any of the genera listed below are considered mbuna. 190px, ''Pseudotropheus'' "acei" *''

Abactochromis ''Abactochromis'' is a monotypic genus of cichlid fish containing the single species ''Abactochromis labrosus'' (formerly known as ''Melanochromis labrosus''). The genus name combines the Latin for "driven away from" ("ab" - away from, "actus" - ...

'' Oliver & Arnegard 2010 *'' Chindongo'' Shan Li,

Konings Konings is a Dutch surname and may refer to: * Ad Konings (b. 1956), Dutch ichthyologist * Anthony Konings (1821–1884), Dutch Catholic priest and Redemptorist professor * Jean Konings (1886–1974), Belgian sprinter *Giovanni Matteo Konin ...

and Stauffer, 2016 *'' Cyathochromis'' Trewavas 1935 *''

Cynotilapia ''Cynotilapia'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids. All fishes in these genus form part of the mbuna flock, the rock-dwelling fishes of Lake Malawi, in the rift valley of East Africa. All species are polygamous, maternal, ovophile mouthbrood ...

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

1922 *'' Genyochromis'' Trewavas 1935 *'' Gephyrochromis'' Boulenger 1901 *'' Iodotropheus'' Oliver & Loiselle 1972 *'' Labeotropheus'' Ahl 1926 *''

Labidochromis ''Labidochromis'' is a genus of cichlid fishes that are endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. The genus includes 18 formally described species, and several yet undescribed species. It includes a number of species commonly kept in cichlid aq ...

'' Trewavas 1935 *''

Maylandia ''Maylandia'' or ''Metriaclima'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemism, endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They belong to the mbuna (rock-dwelling) haplochromines. All species in this genus are relatively small fishes, less than in ...

'' Meyer & Foerster 1984. (syn. '' Metriaclima'' Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg, & McKaye 1997 M. K. Oliver, Ph.D. (2002) ''Maylandia, Metriaclima or Pseudotropheus?'' from www.malawicichlids.co

/ref>) *''

Melanochromis ''Melanochromis'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. Ecologically, they belong to the rock-dwelling mbuna cichlids of Lake Malawi. ''Melanochromis'' are typically small, slim but muscular fishes with l ...

'' Trewavas 1935 *'' Petrotilapia'' Trewavas 1935 *''

Pseudotropheus ''Pseudotropheus'' is a genus of fishes in the family Cichlidae. These mbuna cichlids are endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. Taxonomy Like some other large cichlid genera, such as ''Cichlasoma'', a number of related fishes have been recen ...

1922 *''

Tropheops ''Tropheops'' is a genus of cichlids endemic to 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 betwe ...

'' Trewavas 1984 The list below includes groups of nonmbuna mouthbrooding cichlids from

. * Peacock cichlids ('' Aulonocara'' species) *

Utaka image:Copadichromis_azureus.jpg, ''Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlids found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among ...

cichlids * Other genera such as ''

Rhamphochromis ''Rhamphochromis'' is a genus of East African haplochromine cichlids endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, also including Lake Malombe, Lake Chilingali, Chia Lagoon and upper Shire River.Genner; Nichols; Carvalho; Robinson; Shaw; Smith; and Turner ...

References

{{Reflist, 2

Mbuna in aquaria

Social behavior

Water parameters

Notable mbuna cichlids

References

See also