Aulonokara Benša
Aulonocara Bensha or Bensha Yellow, also known as the Yellow Peacock Cichlid, scientific name Aulonocara baenschi, belongs to the Cichlidae family. Endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. It lives mainly along the western coast in the so-called intermediate zones of the lake, where rocky shores pass into a sandy sloping bottom. The fish is easy to keep and breed, and is also compatible with many other species due to its relatively peaceful disposition compared to other Malawian cichlids.
Contents
Description
Adult males reach a length of up to 12 cm, females – up to 9 cm. Males have a bright yellow color, while the lower part of the head and the edging of the dorsal fin are blue. Females look much more modest, the color is gray with vertical dark stripes on the sides of the body.
Brief information:
- The volume of the aquarium – from 200 liters.
- Temperature – 25-29°C
- Value pH — 7.6–9.0
- Water hardness – medium to high hardness (10-25 dGH)
- Substrate type – sandy
- Lighting – moderate
- Brackish water – no
- Water movement is weak
- The size of the fish is 9–12 cm.
- Nutrition – any with vegetable and protein supplements
- Temperament – conditionally peaceful
- Keeping in a harem with one male and several females
Food
In nature, they feed at the bottom, sifting portions of the soil with their mouths, thereby straining out small invertebrates, crustaceans, vegetation, etc. In a home aquarium, preference should be given to specialized sinking foods for Malawian cichlids, which contain all the necessary components of plant and protein origin. If necessary, large flakes or granules can be crushed to make them easier for the fish to swallow. Homemade food is not welcome. Feed small meals 3-4 times a day.
Maintenance and care, arrangement of the aquarium
To successfully keep a small group of adult fish, you will need a tank of 200 liters or more. The design uses several large stones / rocks or other decorative elements, a sandy substrate and unpretentious plants, for example, Anubias, Vallisneria, Arrowhead styloid and the like.
Water conditions have high pH and dGH values. The placement of a productive filtration system, along with a weekly replacement of part of the water with fresh water (15–20% of the volume), will help maintain hydrochemical conditions at the proper level. It is advisable to purchase filters with filter materials that increase the hardness of the water in order to avoid strong fluctuations in dGH.
Behavior and Compatibility
Males are aggressive towards each other and skirmishes for territory and females are inevitable in a small aquarium, in addition, they can attack fish that have a color similar to them. Otherwise, they are quite friendly to representatives of other species. The best choice is one male Yellow Peacock Cichlid in the company of several females in the neighborhood of calm medium-sized fish.
Breeding / breeding
The appearance of offspring of Bensh yellow in favorable conditions is very likely. With the onset of the mating season, the male chooses a certain area at the bottom of the aquarium – the future spawning site. Then he proceeds to active and very persistent courtship. When the female is ready, she accepts courtship and lays several dozen eggs, which she immediately takes into her mouth. At this moment, the male releases the seed and the eggs are fertilized already in the mouth. He no longer participates in the protection and care of offspring.
The entire incubation period and the first weeks of life, the fry spend in the mouth of the female. At this time, she does not eat anything and can noticeably lose weight. If before spawning the food supply was not regular or the diet was poor, then the female is likely to release the fry earlier, in the worst case, she will eat them.
During spawning, it is advisable to transplant the neighbors in the aquarium into another tank (if any) in order to avoid possible attacks from the male, or vice versa, place cichlids there, and return them back at the end of the mating season.
For the safety of fry in the future, they are kept in a separate aquarium with identical water conditions.
Fish diseases
The main cause of most diseases in Malawian cichlids is inadequate housing conditions and poor quality food, which often leads to such a disease as Malawi bloat. If the first symptoms are detected, you should check the water parameters and the presence of high concentrations of hazardous substances (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc.), if necessary, bring all indicators back to normal and only then proceed with treatment. Read more about symptoms and treatments in the Aquarium Fish Diseases section.
