Fun Lombardoi Cichlid Facts For Kids

Lombardoi cichlids (maylandia lombardoi ) are endemic to the rocky shores and lakes of Mbenji Island, Lake Malawi in East Africa. These species show dimorphic characteristics. The females are mouthbrooding and the males dig caves and are aggressive in nature to protect their territory. Their aggressive nature is quite dangerous for the juveniles. Cichlids are omnivorous which is they can be fed quality vegetable-based flake food and algae.

Learn about more weird and wonderful fish with our gar facts and meagre fish facts.

What type of animal is a lombardoi cichlid?

Lombardoi cichlids (Maylandia lombardoi) are endemic to the rocky shores of Mbenji Island, Lake Malawi in East Africa.

What class of animal does a lombardoi cichlid belong to?

Kenyi cichlids from Lake Malawi belong to the Actinopterygii class of the Cichlidae family.

How many lombardoi cichlids are there in the world?

There are more than 1600 African cichlids present in the world. The cichlid family is one of the vast vertebrate families which is spread over all of America, India, and Sri Lanka.

Where does a lombardoi cichlid live?

These cichlids are from the rocky shores of Lake Malawi in East Africa. They are also common in many areas of India, Iran, and Sri Lanka for aquarium hobbyists.

What is a lombardoi cichlid's habitat?

Lombardoi cichlids (kenyi cichlid) are endemic to Africa. They are popular for their beautiful and bright colors. The females are of brilliant blue with dark bands and the males are of yellow with an aggressive nature. They prefer freshwater. They feed on algae that are attached to the rocks present in the intermediate of sandy and rocky areas. They can also eat good quality boiled vegetables, flake food, and fish food.

Who do lombardoi cichlids live with?

Kenyi cichlids, or lombardoi cichlids, are aggressive males who are very protective of their territory. They are good to keep in species-specific tanks with one male and a group of females in a big aquarium. They do not mix with each other with the same size or color.

How long does a lombardoi cichlid live?

They can live around 8-10 years like the firemouth cichlid. These cichlids are very sensitive to freshwater, temperature, and movement of the water in the tank. They need plenty of space for swimming.

How do they reproduce?

Reproduction is carried out by the males digging caves and seducing the female fish in. The males also perform some fin dance and tempt the females.

The females then lay eggs in the range between 10-50. The female fish collects the eggs in her mouth for about two to three weeks. Then start releasing the fry from her mouth. The fry is kept within the caves away from the male adults because of their wild aggressive nature. After the fry becomes mature enough to defend themselves they can join the adults.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation of this species is stated to be of Least Concern. These are endemic to Lake Malawi and sediment-rich, intermediate sandy and rocky areas of America. The overall population is stable.

What do lombardoi cichlids look like?

Lombardoi cichlids are small in size about 1.57 in ( 4 cm ) length and 0.22 lb ( o.1 kg ) weight. The lombardoi cichlid eggs are kept in the mouth of the female fish thus the female and juvenile male look alike. They are pale blue with dark bands and when they grow the males turn yellow with large egg spots on the anal fin and the females are a brilliant blue, sometimes with black bands.

How cute are they?

The small Malawi fish are brightly colored fish from Nkhomo reef of lake Malawi are very famous for the aquarium hobby in many areas of Africa and America. Their small structures and bright colors are quite cute.

How do they communicate?

Fishes communicate to each other for different reasons, they use many ways to do so. They use their sound, smell, color, motion, electrical impulses and also by bioluminescence, like them the kenyi also communicate with each other for navigation, call for spawning, alert predators to keep away, and while fighting.

How big is a lombardoi cichlid?

They are 5.1 in (13 cm) in length. They need wide space for swimming in freshwater thus the aquarium should be large. The aggression of males can affect the juveniles. The adult female fish look beautiful in brilliant blue with faded bars and the adult males are bright yellow with bars which tells us that they are ready for breeding.

How fast can a lombardoi cichlid swim?

These Pseudotropheus lombardoi are small and quite fast swimmers. They need large, freshwater and fully temperature maintained aquariums for their swimming.

How much does a lombardoi cichlid weigh?

The species of Metriaclima lombardoi are of small size and weigh around 0.22 lb ( o.1 kg ), which is smaller than a peacock cichlid. These freshwater fish need wide space for swimming.

What are the male and female names of the species?

They have no sex-specific names. In this species, the females are responsible for collecting the eggs in their mouths, whereas the males protect the territory. The adult males are bright yellow with vertical bands which indicate that they are fully matured for breeding, while the adult female is a brilliant blue.

What would you call a baby lombardoi cichlid?

They are called fry.

What do they eat?

The kenyi cichlid (Maylandia lombardoi) can be omnivorous or herbivorous and feed on boiled foods like cucumber, brine shrimp, good quality vegetables like flake food and krill. Their diet also contains algae that are brushed off the rocks and planktons in the water. The juvenile's diet contains food like daphnia, spirulina, and bloodworms.

Are they dangerous?

The kenyi cichlid fish are quite protective of their region. So if you bring more fish, it can be dangerous. Also, the fry is unsafe in the adult fish tank.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, lombardoi cichlids make really good pets. These small-size fishes are very common in the aquarium. Also, the lombardoi cichlid males are quite aggressive to their territorial issues. So you should not keep more than one lombardoi cichlid male unless it is a big tank. They are mainly omnivorous and feed on alga and planktons present in the water and rocks. Their diet is easily maintained by boiled cucumber, brine shrimp, daphnia, spirulina, bloodworms, and krill.

Did you know...

Cichlids show sexual dimorphism. The cichlids are born blue, whereas when they grow older they start transforming, the males turn yellow and this is when it's clear that they are ready for breeding.

What role do lombardoi cichlid play in the ecosystem?

The kenyi cichlids are small aquarium fishes, kept in the tanks as the colorful fishes really make a good pet. They eat foods like algae brushed off from the rocks in the water. These adaptations keep their position in the ecosystem in place.

How did lombardoi cichlids get their name and what other names do they have?

Lombardoi cichlids are from the Cichlidae family which leads to its name cichlid M. lombardoi. These are small size aquarium fishes endemic to Africa, Mbenji Islands, and the Nkhomo reef.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish from our rainbow cichlid fun facts or black ghost knifefish facts for kids pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable lombardoi cichlid coloring pages.

Second image by Toby Hudson.