Electric Blue Hap, scientific name Sciaenochromis fryeri is a freshwater ray-finned fish from the cichlid family. It is endemic to the African Lake Malawi, which is known for its cichlid species range.
The first specimens of haplochromis have been described back in 1926. For one cause or one other, the fish modified its particular name in a number of instances.
Later it was typically moved from the genus Haplochromis, though the historic name continues to be the most well-liked.
Electric Blue Hap facts
Among the cichlids dwelling in Lake Malawi, many representatives have a blue or light blue shade. If you’re a fan of such shades, then you’ll definitely be delighted with the looks of Electric Blue Hap.
The name itself signifies the weird and vibrant shade of the fish. Let’s take a better take a look at methods to create snug circumstances for this cichlid in a house aquarium.
Males of Electric Blue Hap have an excellent vibrant blue or light blue coloration. This is a comparatively calm cichlid, though territorial however it could reside with different fish.
Electric Blue Hap Description
The Electric Blue African Cichlid creates a beautiful, colorful focus within the freshwater aquarium. It has the standard smooth, bullet-shaped body widespread to the Cichlidae family.
The energetic Electric Blue African Cichlid appears equally content guarding its territory or perusing the perimeter of your aquarium.
Sciaenochromis fryeri does properly with different Lake Malawi cichlids when supplied with a spacious aquarium of 70 gallons or more with ample rockwork. Although extraneous for the Electric Blue African Cichlid, aquatic vegetation could also be useful for different aquarium inhabitants.
Keep in thoughts that Electric Blue African Cichlids bigger than three inches will typically uproot reside vegetation. The Electric Blue African Cichlid can and possibly will probably be aggressive towards smaller fish.
Considered a specialized mouthbrooder, eggs of the Electric Blue African Cichlid are fertilized and carried by the feminine. Within 12 to 18 days, fry is launched, measuring 1/4 inch.
Once launched, the Electric Blue African Cichlid fry doesn’t return to their mom once more. Most members of the mouthbrooding number of African Cichlids are simply bred within the dwelling aquarium when given the correct aquarium setup and wonderful water circumstances.
A small group of 5 to seven females and one male will present the most effective alternatives for breeding the Electric Blue African Cichlid.
Electric Blue Hap Habitat
The birthplace of Electric Blue Hap is the African lake Malawi (Nyasa). This reservoir is of tectonic origin, it was fashioned on the junction of lithospheric plates.
Due to long-term isolation, the lake has turned into a significant middle for cichlid speciation.
Sciaenochromis fryeri is a widespread species; it lives at depths of 10-40 m in transition zones the place areas with rocky and sandy backside intersect.
It is an ambush predator that waits for its prey, hiding among the many stones.
Electric Blue Hap Appearance
Electric Blue Hap has a noticeably elongated body, which instantly betrays a hunter in it. The head has giant eyes and a big mouth with fleshy lips.
The caudal fin is trapezoidal. The dorsal fin is properly developed, which extends from the gill line to the tail itself and is pointed on the finish.
Electric Blue Hap males can develop as much as 20 cm, females often don’t exceed 15 cm.
The fundamental satisfaction of the Electric Blue Hap is its shade. It is vibrant blue or blue with an attribute metallic sheen. On the perimeters from head to tail, there are transverse darkish stripes.
They are clearly seen at regular instances, however, they virtually disappear in the course of the spawning interval: then the color of the male turns into uniform.
The dorsal fin is colored within the fundamental shade of the body; some geographic morphs have a white border alongside your entire size. The anal and belly are yellowish.
The life expectancy of Electric Blue Hap in dwelling aquariums is 8-10 years.
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Electric Blue Hap Aquarium Setup
Electric Blue Hap must be saved in teams, the place there will probably be 3-Four females for one male. Such a gaggle will need 200-300 liters of water.
You can safely maintain two males in a single aquarium solely with important volumes of the aquarium (from 400 liters).
In any case, the variety of females ought to prevail. Only it will assist to cut back intraspecific competitors and won’t result in the loss of life of a weaker male.
The aquarium has to be geared up with a lid in order that the fish don’t by accident find themselves on the ground of the room. Electric Blue Hap seems to be the greatest in compositions paying homage to the landscapes of Lake Malawi.
It is advisable to make use of sand as a soil, on which firmly mounted piles of stones are put, forming natural shelters. Planting reside vegetation is usually impractical.
Often Electric Blue Hap is utilized in compositions within the “pseudo-mor” model. The natural corals used to construct them enhance the hardness of the water, which Malawian cichlids will prefer to style.
Electric Blue Hap Aquarium Care
But the standard of the water must be checked totally. You will certainly need a robust exterior filter and good aeration. Electric Blue Hap are thermophilic creatures, so care for a thermostat of appropriate energy.
Once every week, a 20% water change within the aquarium is required. Never use water immediately from the faucet for a change: it might include hazardous components resembling chlorine or heavy metals.
To make it protected immediately, add Tetra AquaSafe conditioner to a bucket of recent water and you’ll safely pour it into the aquarium without settling.
It is vital to do not to forget that the water in Lake Malawi is extremely mineralized, so be sure that the hardness is at the very least 10 dGH.
Optimum water parameters for aquarium: T = 24-28°C, pH = 7.6-8.8, GH = 10-25
Feeding Electric Blue Hap
In nature, the diet of Electric Blue Hap consists primarily of fry of different Malawian cichlids. At dwelling, fish are wonderful at switching to high-quality dry meals with a high protein content, designed particularly for cichlids.
Depending on the size and personal desire of the fish, you possibly can go for Tetra Cichlid XL Flakes, Tetra Cichlid Sticks, or Tetra Cichlid Crisps.
Each of those feeds will absolutely present the Blue Hap with high-quality proteins and different vitamins. A particular complicated of nutritional vitamins offers you health and longevity.
It is greatest to feed the fish a number of instances a day (younger 3-Four instances) in such a portion that will probably be fully eaten by the cichlids in a couple of minutes. Blue Hap is susceptible to overeating, so as soon as every week you possibly can organize a fasting day.
Electric Blue Hap Tank Mates
Electric Blue Hap has a fairly livable character and is far quieter than many Malawian cichlids.
However, he can’t be known as fully docile, as a result of he’s an actual predator who can simply eat any fish that may match into his mouth.
Therefore, Electric Blue Hap must be saved solely with commensurate cichlids. Well, suited tank mates for Electric Blue Hap are Mbuna Cichlids, Demasoni Cichlid, Yellow Lab Cichlid, Blue Dolphin Cichlid, Peacock Cichlid, Synodontis Catfish, and many others…
Reproduction and Breeding
Another undeniable benefit when preserving Blue Hap is the convenience of breeding this species at dwelling. The fish have an extremely developed parental intuition, which, nonetheless, is by no means unusual for Malawian cichlids.
To distinguish a male from feminine is kind of easy: solely males have a vibrant blue shade, and they’re bigger in size. Females have modestly colored: their scales are silver, generally with a bluish tint. Fish can spawn at intervals of two months.
In nature, males construct conical mounds of sand with a gap on the top as a nest, and in aquariums, they often dig small holes beneath the stones.
After the completion of “construction”, males start to chase females. This courtship is kind of robust, generally, the chosen ones have to cover from the energetic male.
The feminine prepared for spawning swims as much as the ready nest and lays 15-70 eggs in a number of phases.
The male picks them up along with his anal fin and fertilizes, after which the eggs are collected by the feminine within the mouth, the place additional improvement takes place.
At this time, the feminine doesn’t eat something. You can distinguish it by its stretched mouth. During this era, you shouldn’t expose the fish to emphasize, in any other case, it might swallow or lose its eggs.
Incubation takes about Three weeks, after which an absolutely fashioned fry of pretty giant size is born. If spawning passed off in a separate container, the feminine must be returned to the final aquarium.
As the Blue Hap fry develops, they need to be sorted to stop cannibalism. At the age of about six months, it’s already possible to find out the sex of the fry, and the fish attain sexual maturity once they attain 12 months. Read more about are-blobfish-real.