Tropheus Molino Firecracker cichlid – 5cm

Firecracker Cichlid (Tropheus moliro) is an outstanding & vibrant African mouthbrooder Cichlid from lake Tanganyika that is sure to please most African Cichlid keepers! All Tropheus will do best when kept in groups or colonies as they are not a solitaire fish.  Min tank size: 280 liter, adult size: 15 cm, aggressive and voracious eaters.  They need to be kept in a group of 10 or more.

There are around a hundred different types of Tropheus cichlids from lake Tanganyika and each type comes from a different rugged coastal area on Lake Tanganyika. The Tropheus moliro is essentially a Tropheus moorii from the Moliro, Congo area on the south-western shore of the lake.

Behaviour

All Tropheus species in the aquarium are territorial and relentlessly chase other Tropheus males. Females are courted continuously and often aggressively chased when not ready to spawn. The only way to keep these species in captivity is in a group of ten or more and the sexes of Tropheus can be relatively easily determined by examining the vents.  Almost all commercially available dry foods contain lots of protein and fat, and, in the aquarium, these cichlids can eat more of these nutrients in two minutes than they could eat in an entire day in their natural environment. Algae growth on the aquarium surfaces, aided by strong lighting, will provide an additional food source.

Tropheus can be housed with as many males as females given ample hiding spaces such as rock caves.

They spend the majority of their time scraping algae from the rocks

Tank Conditions

Over filtration is best for Tropheus. They are voracious eaters and require clean water. If you over-filtrate you can do water changes every 2-3 weeks and it’s no problem. If one of your Tropheus fails to eat, in my experience, it is because they have bloat or it is a female with a mouthful of eggs.

Tropheus lives in rocky habitats of lake Tanganyika. The rocks do not necessarily have to be a particular size, but where relatively small rocks of 30-100cm create a myriad of hiding places, the populations of Tropheus are most dense.

Since they are voracious and messy eaters, a good rule of thumb to aim for is to turn over the water in the tank 10 times per hour. Some prefer to try for a little more but 10X per hour should work in most tanks.

Compatibility

All Tropheus are territorial and most males have rather large feeding territories.  Due to their nature, they tend to dominate any tank in which they are kept which limits your tank to other fish from lake Tanganyika or other lakes with less dominant behavioural attributes.

Goby cichlids (also from lake Tanganyika) as they are commonly known can also make for great tank mates for Tropheus cichlids as they are virtually ignored however should generally only be kept within a larger aquarium themselves due to being quite quarrelsome between themselves. Fish from other African Rift Valley lakes such as Malawi could be suitable.  Here are all the African Cichlid fish at Rebel Pets.

Tropheus will often chase featherfins and nip at their long trailing fins.

Feeding

Tropheus are predominantly vegetarian grazers, but they will occasionally eat meaty foods.  Feeding these species is the most difficult part of keeping and breeding. The safest food to give these vegetarians is Spirulina flake and a suitable, good quality flake will be sufficient to get these cichlids into breeding condition.

Also recommended are Cyclops, Mysis, and other planktonic crustaceans and it is important that the frozen food must feel rough to the touch and not soft or slimy. Here are the fish foods specifically for African Cichlids or products for Tanganyika Cichlids at Rebel Pets. Feeding red or white mosquito larvae, Artemia, beefheart and other soft, easily digestible food can be lethal for these fish. Europeans are fond of using a shrimp mix as a staple food source for their Tropheus.

Do not feed these fish more than once a day.

Care

Always expect bloat when you get your Tropheus, if you expect bloat, then it does not matter if the fish actually get it or not. The point is to be prepared if they do. Bloat typically hits juveniles much worse than adults and adults seem to travel and handle stress much better.  Never order Tropheus unless you have metronidazole  or a bloat medication available. Some Tropheus fanatics claim that metronidazole (metro) is the only reliable cure for Tropheus bloat. If you wait to order it when you see bloat appear, by the time your metro arrives, you fish will be too far gone.

Since they are messy eaters, do water changes every 2-3 weeks.

Tropheus are actually very easy to take care of once you get them past the initial arrival phase. Keep them on their spirulina based diet, maintain water quality, and all should be right with the world.

See Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment at Rebel Pets for help with diagnosing and treating diseases.