Most personable Mbuna african cichlid?
- Thread starter ccichc
- Start date
I don't have a vote. IDK any Africans that are "personable". Any healthy mbuna is going to beg for food 24/7. The ones that attack your arm while doing water changes? More a form of aggression than personability. Maingano for me.
Mbuna are small fish typically kept in a colony to interact with one another, rather than solo to interact with the owner as large CA do. Exception is when a dominant Mbuna must be kept in solitary confinement for threat of commiting massacre.
My vote would be a Melanochromis chipokae I kept who had murdered half his tankmates, locked jaw with a green terror twice his size and won. I isolated him in his own tank and he continued to fight me and reflection on the glass. I guess any of the super aggressive Mbuna such as Zebra, Kenyi, Damasoni are up there too and would have an attitude.
My vote would be a Melanochromis chipokae I kept who had murdered half his tankmates, locked jaw with a green terror twice his size and won. I isolated him in his own tank and he continued to fight me and reflection on the glass. I guess any of the super aggressive Mbuna such as Zebra, Kenyi, Damasoni are up there too and would have an attitude.
Personable is defined as having a pleasant appearance and manner.
I don't find Metriaclima or demasoni to be super aggressive when housed in the right sized tank with the right tank mates. Never kept kenyi or Melanochromis, I don't like aggressive fish.
I don't find Metriaclima or demasoni to be super aggressive when housed in the right sized tank with the right tank mates. Never kept kenyi or Melanochromis, I don't like aggressive fish.
I've kept many dedicated Mbuna tanks over the years, and enjoyed doing so. Mbuna are super colorful, almost up there with marine fish, have a fascinating breeding strategy, are active to the point of being frenetic, but "big personality"...Nope! Based on intelligence and behavior alone, one wouldn't guess that Central or South American cichlids and African cichlids were even in the same family.
Kenyi and Demasoni are now Metriaclima species, but in old time, many vertically barring Mbuna are classified under Pseudotropheus. IME, Demasoni is as territorial as kenyi, just half the size. I once confined a male Demasoni briefly in a breeding cage and he attacked the reflection. Mbuna is not considered to have personality because they are small fish typically kept in large group in small home aquarium. No one does it, but keep a solo Mbuna in a betta tank and you will be surprised that some territorial male might turned into a mini glass banger. Many CA have personality because home aquarium are typically too small for one fish territory. Keep a group of CA in a huge tank and they will lose their personality.
I think some of you are really confusing personality and aggression. Maybe its too vague a term, but when I want a fish with "personality" it's not aggression I'm seeking. I'm looking for a fish that's curious, playful, shows some intent behind it's actions, beyond the mindless swimming in circles of dither fish. I guess aggression is a personality, but not one I'm interested in, about the same way I'm not interested in hanging around aggressive people.
That's not correct. C. demasoni is not and was never a Metriaclima/Maylandia. It went straight from Pseudotropheus to Chindongo.
Back to topic:
If your Mbuna gets to much interactive with you means it's not kept properly because it should be too busy with other Mbuna than to interact with the owner, besides behaviour like defending it's territory during maintenance.
There is another Damasoni species under Metriaclima. https://www.tampabaycichlids.com/pr...a-giant-demasoni-mbuna-malawi-african-cichlid. It is called giant Damasoni, also aka Blue Dolphin to confuse with Haplochromis Moori.