Care
The Hap CH44 is endemic to the northern and eastern parts of Lake Victoria, where it is found in the shallow sandy habitat close to shore. The aquarium should be at least 4ft long and aquascaped with rocky outcrops and some open expanses of sand. Décor such as ocean rock can be used to build sturdy structures which stretch from the base of the tank to near the surface of the water. These structures should be built with the purpose of creating many crevices for the fish to explore but constructed in such a way so as to keep the rocks stable if the fish start to dig around and underneath them. A substrate of coral sand or Aragonite will assist in keeping the water hard and alkaline. Filtration should be efficient, with moderate water flow and a good level of oxygenation. Regular partial water changes will help keep nitrate to a minimum. The Hap CH44 is an aggressive species, and it is best to keep one male in a harem situation with a large number of females (keeping just one female with a male will result in continual harassment and death). If more than one male is to be kept, the tank must be much more voluminous with a plethora of visual barriers, and again, they must be vastly outnumbered by females. These fish tend to hybridise freely with many other closely related Victorian cichlids, so are best maintained in a species tank environment or alongside robust Lake Malawi mbuna, which have very similar requirements - however, do research individual species thoroughly to ensure compatibility.
Feeding
Offer a variety of small meaty frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, and daphnia, along with flake and small pellet foods.
Breeding
This species has been bred in the home aquarium. When ready to spawn, the colouration of the male will intensify and his aggression level will heighten. He will choose and clean a spawning site, then display to the female fish until one accepts him. They will circle each other in a head to tail manner a number of times, until the female deposits her eggs. These are deposited just one or two at a time and after doing so, she immediately turns around and picks them up. At the same time, the male will rotate so that he is almost on his side, at the same time shaking and extending his anal fin, releasing his milt. The female sees the egg spots on the male"™s anal fin and attempts to pick up those "œeggs" whilst she is picking up the real ones that she deposited, and at the same time taking in milt. This is the method of fertilisation, and this ritual may go on for some time until the female is spent of eggs. She will incubate the eggs in her mouth for up to 3 weeks before releasing free-swimming fry, which can immediately be offered baby brineshrimp (Artemia nauplii) and crushed flake food.
