Blue dolphin cichlids where originally classified as Haplochromis moorii for the longest time but where moved to the genus Cyrtocara and are now called Cyrtocara Moorii. The beautiful blue beauties are peaceful Malawi cichlids which are endemic to Lake Malawi and Lake Malombe. They are found in shallow sandy areas and are known to feed on small benthic invertebrates.

 

C. moorii are simply beautiful and graceful cichlids these truly are an aquarium favorite. They are given their nickname because of their humps or nuchal humps and bill like mouth which actually resembles dolphins. In the aquarium Malawi blue dolphin cichlids will eagerly accept all prepared aquarium foods including pellets, flakes and freeze dried foods. These Malawi cichlids are cataloged on the IUCN red list of endangered species website but are classified as least concern relative to any threats for their habitat.

 

Blue dolphin cichlid breeding is accomplished with a ratio of one male to some 5 females in a fairly large community tank. They are not fussy about water conditions and do well in hard alkaline water. It’s not uncommon to see them mixed with of other Malawi cichlids including Labidochromis and Aulonocara species. C.moorii are mouthbrooders and because they are polygamous spawning fish it’s common for a male to spawn with multiple females. The amount of fry will depend on the size of the female who will hold the eggs in her mouth for up to three weeks. Some hobbyists use cichlid egg tumblers with this species has been known to spit eggs out early.