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| Image credits: Erick Houli on Flickr under Creative Commons license |
I am sharing some important information about emperor cichlids, the largest among peacock cichlids
Origin:
Endemic to Lake Tanganyika, can be found up to 150 feet deeper in the lake
Temperature:
23 -27 degrees
Size:
- Largest of African cichlid species
- fully grown size can vary from 45 to 55 cm
Diet:
They are omnivores but it is good to offer them live or frozen bloodworm, sludge worm, brine shrimp, chopped prawns, small earthworms
Behaviour:
- Juveniles are calm but as they grow up they become aggressive
- Emperor peacock cichlids will not tolerate any other species in their territory when they from a couple
- Males are more colourful, aggressive and bigger than female emperor peacock cichlids
Reproduction:
Sexual maturity is obtained at nearly four hundred millimetres of length and over 2 years older. Courtship is initiated by the feminine and up to ten thousand eggs are deposited on a rocky surface. These eggs are laid in batches with the male moving in to fertilise them each time. Only a small percentage survive to attain maturity.