Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos is also known under the name of Melanochromis maingano.
The males of this species are coloured blackwith lightblue stripes in the length of the body and on the fins. The females are lighter, but look almost exactly the same as the males.

Maingano are fish who live on the rocks, they can defend their territory fiercely, especially in mating time, so they have to be kept in a large aquarium with lots of hideouts. They can be repulsive against other fish of their own kind, but they leave other fish alone. I first had two males with four females in my aquarium, but the males kept fighting so I had to catch one out and sell him.

This species is becoming not very big. The male becomes about 10 cm, the females a bit smaller. They are easy to keep and they will have offspring very fast, if they are kept under the right conditions. I've had lots of youngs from them and there are some swimming around at the moment. This species lives in an environment which is rich of algae, so we have to feed it things like Spirulina or peas.

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