Maclear Cichlid

About

Found in the cold, deep reaches of Lake Malawi, Alticorpus macrocleithrum is one of the lesser-known cichlids from this iconic rift lake, collected primarily around Cape Maclear and Monkey Bay. In the wild it lives below 60 meters, settling over silty diatomaceous ooze and sandy substrates. Habitats that are about as far from the typical brightly lit Mbuna rockwork as you can get. Its diet in the wild likely includes invertebrates and possibly small fish, which makes sense for an opportunistic predator roaming dark, deep-water environments. In the aquarium, this species is considered intermediate in difficulty, partly because replicating its natural conditions takes some thought. Its deep-water origins suggest it prefers dimmer, calmer setups rather than the turbulent, brightly lit tanks often associated with Lake Malawi cichlids. It reaches a modest adult size somewhere in the three to six inch range, making it manageable for a 55-gallon or larger setup. Because it comes from the alkaline, hard waters characteristic of Lake Malawi, maintaining stable water chemistry on the harder and more alkaline side is important. This is not a species you commonly see in the hobby, which makes it an interesting project for cichlid enthusiasts looking beyond the usual Malawi offerings.