Malawi Thick-lipped Cichlid

About

Found picking through the rocky shallows of Lake Malawi, Abactochromis labrosus is a relatively compact cichlid that fits comfortably in the broader community of Malawi setups. The lake it calls home is one of the African Rift Valley's great cichlid factories, and this species occupies the rubble and boulder zones where it forages among the crevices. It is the sole member of its genus, which sets it apart from the more familiar mbuna and haplochromine groups that dominate the Malawi hobby. Despite that taxonomic isolation, it behaves in ways that will feel recognizable to anyone who has kept other Malawi cichlids. Active, personable, and engaged with its surroundings. The notably thick lips that give the species its name are thought to help it manipulate food from rocky surfaces, a neat bit of form-following-function. For a Malawi cichlid, it is considered a reasonable choice for keepers who are newer to the rift lake world, provided the tank is furnished with plenty of rockwork to mimic the substrate it comes from in the wild. A lifespan pushing into the double digits means this is a fish worth investing some care in from the start.