All fish / Cichlidae

Hajomaylandi Mbuna

Metriaclima hajomaylandi

Also known as hajomaylandi, pseudotropheus hajomaylandi, maylandia hajomaylandi, chizumulu blue zebra, hajo mbuna

Hajomaylandi Mbuna — Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Ged~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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This is a rock-dwelling mbuna from Chizumulu Island in Lake Malawi. Males are pale blue with faint dark bars and a yellow throat or chest. Females are duller. Keepers like it because it is less common than the usual zebra mbuna and gives a full mbuna tank a softer pastel look.

Care at a glance

Care level: Moderate
Temperament: Aggressive
Adult size: 10 cm
Temperature: 24 to 28 °C
pH: 7.6 to 8.6
Smallest tank: 300 litres
Keep as: One male with 3 or more females, in a crowded mbuna community
Diet: Omnivore: algae-based flakes and pellets, spirulina, some small crustaceans
Swims: Middle of the tank
Lifespan: 6 to 10 years
Water: Freshwater
Wild range: Lake Malawi (Chizumulu Island), Malawi

Breeding

It is a maternal mouthbrooder. The female holds the eggs and fry for about three weeks after males have displayed to her over a rock territory. It breeds readily in a well-kept mbuna tank.

Good to know

Males are territorial, so give them plenty of rockwork and keep them with similar-sized mbuna. Avoid keeping it with other blue barred Maylandia because they can hybridise. Many sources now place it in the genus Metriaclima.