Yellow Petrotilapia

Appearance

Adult males in the breeding season are entirely yellow with a bluish anal fin which is marked by yellow ocelli. Its fins are yellow with a slight touch of blue on the membranes, its caudal fin is rounded, its dorsal and pelvic fins are pointed, they are rounded in females. Females are smaller, they are colored light brown with a horizontal stripe and dark brown vertical stripes. Petrotilapia have thick lips with many small teeth that remain visible even when the fish has its mouth closed, these grater-shaped teeth are used to scrape rocks to tear off algae and other plants.

In the lake the males of these species can grow to 15 cm, in the aquarium however they can grow taller because of a good feeding. The males can then grow to about 17 cm, females grow to about 13 cm.

Naming

Its name is a Greek word for the color yellow and refers to the color of breeding males.

Distribution

In the wild Petrotilapia xanthos is endemic of Lake Malawi, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. This species can only be found near Gallireya Reef.

Status

Near Threatened (NT)

Behavior

Petrotilapia xanthos can behave intolerant against equal species, against other inhabitants they are in general tolerant.
They inhabit rocky outcrops where adult males establish their territories; females, juveniles and non-territorial secondary males are found singly or in small groups in rocky habitat.

It is a moderately aggressive fish, it is especially territorial during the breeding season. It is difficult to keep several males together in the same tank, the females are also territorial, they need a lot of space and hiding places to take refuge there. The Petrotilapia xanthos should be kept in a harem (one male for 3 to 4 females), because the males are polygamous. It can be kept in a community aquarium with other M'Bunas of the same size. For a correct maintenance of these fish, you must reconstitute a typical biotope of Lake Malawi, that is to say, a rocky pile, and a good thickness of fine substrate, some branches of driftwood can be added to your decoration, likewise just a few hardy plants like anubias fixed on rocks to add a touch of greenery to your planter.

Habitat

They are living there in the intermediate zones from rocks to sand, however they are mainly holding up above flat stones which are lying spread over the sandbottom and which are covoured with sediment and sand.

Reproduction

Oviparous type
It is a maternal mouth incubator, it is the male who chooses and cleans the spawning site, he leads a female there by displaying his pretty colors and wriggling in front of her.
The spawning takes place according to the "T" method, the female deposits her eggs in the nest dug by the male, then she immediately picks them up in her mouth. The male lies on his sides and presents his ocelli so that the female will try to catch them since she confuses them by eggs. The male will then take the opportunity to release his sperm that the female will take in the mouth along with the eggs. The incubation period is around 3 weeks, a period during which the female does not feed, the male aggressively protects the surroundings of the spawning site.
The fry, numbering 20 to 40, are released after this incubation period but will remain under the supervision of both parents, the female does not hesitate to take them back in the mouth in case of danger. The fry must be fed with Artemia nauplia, then with powdered food made from spirulina (if in an aquarium).

Food

Members of the genus Petrotilapia are characterized by large, full lips that are densely covered with many fine teeth, used to comb algae on rocks for diatoms, periphyton, and algae strands.

In the lake they are mainly feeding themselves with everything they find on the rocks and plankton. In the aquarium they are comfortable with any food. They take everything they get offered, like spirulina pellets, mysis, artemia, cyclops and shrimp-peas mix. Food rich of algae like spirulina pellets or flakes is very important to them so this should not be missing on their menu.

Uses

Aquarium trade.