Pindani

About

Known in the hobby as Eduard's mbuna or Pindani, this small cichlid from Lake Malawi has no universally accepted common name separate from its scientific one, Pseudotropheus socolofi, so you'll hear all three names used interchangeably at fish clubs and in stores. Wild populations are concentrated in the shallow, rocky and sandy zones along the Mozambique shoreline, though introduced populations exist at a couple of Malawian sites as well. Males are intensely colored and territorial, patrolling a patch of rock while scraping biofilm and algae from surfaces. The diet in the aquarium should reflect this herbivorous lifestyle with plenty of vegetable matter. For a mbuna, this species sits toward the more manageable end of the aggression scale, which is partly why it has become one of the more popular Rift Lake cichlids in the hobby. That said, it should never be lumped in with large or genuinely combative mbuna. Better companions include Aulonocara, Copadichromis, and calmer mbuna like Labidochromis caeruleus. If you want to keep more than one male, you'll need serious space and careful planning. Breeding is straightforward. This is a maternal mouthbrooder, and a harem setup of one male to several females works well. An albino form has also become fairly established in the hobby. Wild-caught specimens are rare now, with almost everything available being tank-raised.