All fish / Cichlidae

Pale Usisya peacock

Aulonocara steveni

Also known as pale usisya aulonocara, usisya peacock, aulonocara steveni usisya, flavescent peacock, steveni peacock, aulonocara pale usisya, sunshine peacock, aulonocara stevenii, ปลาหมอสีมาลาวี, オーロノカラ・ステベニ, aulonocara, 孔雀鲷

Males have a metallic blue face and a body that turns yellow to orange towards the back, with a pale edge to the dorsal fin, while females stay a plain brownish grey with faint bars. It is a fairly calm peacock cichlid from the sandy and rocky areas around Usisya, kept for its bright colours and manners that are milder than mbuna.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

12 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

7.6 to 8.6

Smallest tank

240 litres

Keep as

One male with 3 or more females, or an all-male peacock tank

Diet

Carnivore: quality cichlid pellets, frozen mysis, brine shrimp and small crustaceans; avoid fatty mammal meat

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

8 to 10 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Lake Malawi (Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique), endemic

Breeding

It is a maternal mouthbrooder: the female holds the eggs and fry in her mouth for about three weeks. Breeding is easy in a well-kept Malawi tank with several females per male.

Good to know

Males fight each other and can be bullied by mbuna, so keep it with other calm haps and peacocks. It hybridises easily with other Aulonocara, so keep species apart if you plan to breed it, and check the stock is not a hybrid.