''Pseudotropheus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

es in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cichlidae Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

. These

mbuna Mbuna (pronounced Mmm-boo-nah ) is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi, and are members of the haplochromine tribe within the family Cichlidae. The name ''mbuna'' means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga pe ...

cichlids are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

Taxonomy

Like some other large cichlid

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

, such as ''

Cichlasoma ''Cichlasoma'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the cichlid family. The genus was previously very large (a wastebasket taxon), including cichlids from North America, including Central America, and South America. Reclassification and subsequent ...

'', a number of related

es have been recently reassigned to different genera such as '' Tropheops'' or ''

Maylandia ''Maylandia'' or ''Metriaclima'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemism, endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They belong to the mbuna (rock-dwelling) haplochromines. All species in this genus are relatively small fishes, less than in ...

''. Some

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of '' Melanochromis'' in turn have been moved into ''Pseudotropheus''. There are currently 25 recognized species in this genus: * '' Pseudotropheus ater'' Stauffer, 1988 * '' Pseudotropheus benetos'' (

Bowers Bowers may refer to: Persons *Bowers (surname) Places ;Antarctica * Bowers Mountains * Bowers Piedmont Glacier ;United Kingdom * Bowers, Staffordshire, England * Bowers Gifford, Essex, England ;United States * Bowers, Delaware * Bowers, India ...

& Stauffer, 1997) * '' Pseudotropheus brevis'' ( Trewavas, 1935) * '' Pseudotropheus crabro'' ( Ribbink & D. S. C. Lewis, 1982) * '' Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos'' (

& Stauffer, 1997) * '' Pseudotropheus perspicax'' ( Trewavas, 1935) * '' Pseudotropheus purpuratus'' D. S. Johnson, 1976 * '' Pseudotropheus saulosi'' Konings, 1990 * '' Pseudotropheus socolofi'' D. S. Johnson, 1974 * '' Pseudotropheus tursiops'' W. E. Burgess & H. R. Axelrod, 1975 * '' Pseudotropheus williamsi'' ( Günther, 1894) Several of these were moved to the new genus '' Chindongo'' in 2016.Li, S.; A.F. Konings; and J.R. Stauffer Jr. (2016). A Revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) With Description of a New Genus and Seven New Species. Zootaxa 4168 (2): 353–381.

Biology

Mbuna Mbuna (pronounced Mmm-boo-nah ) is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi, and are members of the haplochromine tribe within the family Cichlidae. The name ''mbuna'' means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga pe ...

literally means "rockdweller" and this description accurately depicts the lifestyle of these

cichlid Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

s which mostly live in rocky areas. Most pseudotrophine cichlids are

algal Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular microalgae, s ...

grazers in the wild. Like most cichlids from Lake Malawi, fish from this genus reproduce via maternal

mouthbrooding Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

. The males often have egg spots on their

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

s which attract spawn-ready females towards them where they attempt to retrieve the imitation eggs while the male emits sperm into her biting mouth, thus fertilizing the eggs. The female and male generally move in an intensive circular motion while they spawn. Eventually, the female retrieves all of her eggs and incubates them in her mouth without eating for 2–4 weeks depending on the species and the particular fish after which the fry are released. Most, possibly all species of ''Pseudotropheus'' will breed together if given the right environment.

In aquaculture

Fish of this genus are popular amongst tropical aquarists. They are relatively aggressive fish, usually requiring large aquaria with ample rock coverage for hiding and providing havens from aggression. It is usually important to keep a high population of fish in the aquaria to distribute the

aggression Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

. They are extremely hardy fish and can live nearly ten years. It is best to keep them with other African cichlids of similar size.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q311686 Cichlid genera * Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan