Three Lakes cichlid
Cichlidae (Kullander, 1998), Cichlid (Cichlid) Snapper [Pinyin]: [diāo] is a genus of fish in the genus Cichlidae, a genus of fish in the genus Cichlidae, which is what we call the lid family. Among the world's fish, it can be said that cichlids are one of the most evolutionary fish species, spreading in all major waters around the world, with about 200 genera and more than 2,000 species.
It is one of the most numerous species of teleost fish. Native to tropical Central and South America, Africa and the West Indies, cichlids have been introduced around the world for their high ornamental value and are now the most common exotic species in tropical and subtropical regions. Among them, the cichlid living in the three major lakes in central Africa (the three major lakes of Africa refer to Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria), because of its endless changes of color, strong physique, elegant body shape, and strong water and soil adaptability, has become the best choice for ornamental fish species, which is what we usually know as the three lakes cichlid.
Chinese scientific name: Three Lakes Cichlid
Latin scientific name: Cichlidae (Kullander, 1998)
Realm: Animal kingdom
Phylum: Phylum Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrate subphylum
Class: Bony fish
Subclass: Suborder Rayfin fish
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Suborder Bulbophyllum
Family: Cichlididae
Genus: Cichlid
Species: Three Lakes Cichlid
Distribution area: East and Southeast Africa
Brief introduction
The Three Lakes Cichlid is the collective name of the three major lakes in Africa, the Malawi Lake Cichlid, the Lake Tanganyk Cichlid and the Lake Victoria Cichlid. At present, the three lakes cichlids are divided into two major categories: breeding and wild, and the wild population is brightly colored and more ornamental, and the breeding is slightly worse.
Lake Malawi cichlid
Lake Malawi, one of the three major lakes in East Africa, dates back to the Mesozoic Era about 15 million years ago, due to the great changes in the earth's crust, gradually developed into the Graben Lake (Rift Lakes); it is the third largest lake in Africa, with a shape of 580 kilometers from north to south, a shortest width from east to west, a surface area of about 30,000 square kilometers, and a depth of 704 meters; ranking ninth in the world and the fourth deepest in the world. The main outflow of the river is the Syr Darya River (Shire), the rest are adjacent small rivers, the production of cichlid species up to about 800 species, and is still being discovered.
Malawi Lake, the lake water contains a higher concentration of mineral salts and more minerals, pH 7. 7－8． 8, the hardness is high, the water temperature from the bottom of the lake to the surface of the temperature difference of only 5 °C (24-29 °C), most of the part does not exceed 3. 5 °C, so there is no large difference in temperature regardless of the depth of the water or the difference in region, and the transparency of the water is very high, and the algae reproduction is small and the water quality is low.
Cichlids of Lake Malawi
There are more than 800 species of cichlids in Lake Malawi, and only about 300 species have been identified and named by ichthyologists, with monochrome snapper being the majority. The genera of Lake Malawi and the more common representative cichlids are as follows:
1. Haplochromis
It is the largest genus of the Lake Malawi cichlid, the body color is mostly metallic blue luster, the female body is mostly silvery gray, and the common fish species introduced on the island in the early days are: blue jasmine (Haplochromis moorli), horse noodles (Haplochromis compressiceps), Ali (Haplochromis ahli), and Haplochromis (Haplochromis). annectens) and haplochromis Sp. ）...... wait.
2. Genus Aulonocara
Monochrome snapper has a very similar appearance and metallic blue color characteristics, the female fish is also silvery gray, has entered Taiwan are: Aulonocara nyassae, platinum angel (Aulonocara nyassae Albino), firebird (Aulonocara nyassae Red Flash)... wait.
3. Peacock snapper (Trernatocranus)
Similar to the characteristics of the genus Coleus bream, the difference is that the white trim has a thicker dorsal fin and the tip of the rump is white; it is commonly incorporated into the genus Aulonocara, which is indistinguishable. The most representative species are the bright red (Trernatocranus jacobfreibergi) or (Aulonocara jacobfreibergi).
Lobna ethnic group (Mbuna)
(Mbuna) the local vernacular is "a fish population that inhabits the rocks and reefs by the lake", feeding on the moss that is attached to the rocks, and the body color is bright and varied, and even the male and female have completely different body colors.
4. Pseudotrophe-us
Such as: Prince Charming (Pseudotropheus zrbra Albino), Zebra Sparrow (Pseudotropheus Iombardoi), Blue Butterfly (Pseudotropheus eduardi) and Prince of Lightning (Pseudotropheus elongatus)... wait.
5. Melanochromis
Such as: The African Phoenix (Melanochromis auratus), the Crown Seven (Melanochromis crabro) and the Prince of Golden Sails (Melanochromis brevis)... wait.
6. Labidochromis
Such as: African princes (Labidochromis caeruleus), florets (Labidochromis exasperatus).
7. Petrotilapia
For example: violet (Petrotilapia tridentiger).
8. Labeotropheus
Such as: Flower Clown (Labeotropheus fuelleborni), Hook Nose Clown (Labeotropheus fuelleborni).
Lake Tanganyk is the oldest and second deepest beautiful lake in the world, a unique fish population located in Lake Tanganyika in the trenches of East Africa. The success of these cichlids of different sizes is that they have a variety of different predators and their own methods of predation, some eat small shrimp, some eat algae and other species of fish, and the reason for their success is that even if there are several different fish preying on the same food object, they have their own different methods of predation, as if they are not competing with each other but taking what they need, so they can all survive together.
The beauty of Tan Lake is a masterpiece of nature, and her endless resources are nature's blessing to human beings, the lake water breeds more than 250 species of fish, more than the whole of Europe, many of which are only seen in this lake in the world, and the species related to cichlid alone account for two-thirds of the more than 300 species of fish in the lake. Among them, the "yellow pearl finch" always swims in groups, and each pearl-colored fish hunts between the rocks for shrimp and other microorganisms to eat; another species of cichlid "pearl tiger" also preys on shrimp; but it is caught by quickly swallowing in a posture on the head and tail, and now the cichlid in the lake has evolved to be able to take advantage of any possible food resource; like a "lightning pearl" is made by their gills filtering the sand to filter out small organisms to eat; the cute -- cute "butterflyfish" The mouth has small file-like teeth that can eat the seaweed growing on the stone; and the predator of the fish below is really a bit strange, its attack target is twice the size of the big fish, but this "cannonball fish" will choose the right time to attack quickly, its sharp teeth can bite a few scales of the big fish and the protective film outside the body, both of which are extremely nutritious things. The lake has thumb-sized "scallops" and "90 angels" that can grow up to 90 centimeters.
Lake Victoria, located in central Africa, straddling the equator, is the largest lake in Africa and the second largest freshwater lake in the world. The lake water is weakly alkaline (PH7.1~9.0). The water quality is not strong, most of them belong to the genus Haplochromis, and the body color is mostly yellow, blue and red. Although Lake Victoria is rich in cichlid, the introduction of Nile seabream has caused ecological damage, and many species of seabream are on the verge of extinction. At present, there are only more than 200 kinds of species, and 40-50 kinds of unique varieties are 15% of the glory days. The Lake Victoria cichlid, which is composed of yellow, blue and red, is a representative species
Food for the Three Lakes cichlid
The food of cichlid is best based on natural foods, such as frozen shrimp, do not feed with hormones, otherwise it is easy to make the fish can not grow natural color.