Aulonocara korneliae Breeding Guide

Breeding the Blue-Lipped Peacock (Aulonocara korneliae): a sand-foraging Chizumulu Island peacock that is a maternal mouthbrooder, with harem setup and sexing.

Overview

Aulonocara korneliae, the Blue-Lipped Peacock, is endemic to Lake Malawi and recorded from Chizumulu Island, reaching about 7.8 cm standard length. It is regularly found over pure rocky habitat but forages over sand, feeding on sand-dwelling invertebrates. As an Aulonocara it is a maternal mouthbrooder.

Sexing

Aulonocara are strongly sexually dichromic. Males are colourful with elongated dorsal and anal fins and develop bright colour even as juveniles, while females remain a drab silver to brown or grey throughout. This makes sexing relatively straightforward by colour.

Conditioning

Because the species forages over sand for invertebrates, a sandy bottom and a varied micropredator diet of fine prepared and small live or frozen foods keep breeding fish in condition.

Breeding Setup

Follow the standard Aulonocara harem approach of a single male with several females over a sandy substrate with rocky shelter. Spreading the male's attention across multiple females reduces harassment of any individual.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

As a maternal mouthbrooder, the female lays eggs and takes them into her mouth; fertilisation follows the typical Aulonocara egg-spot mechanism, where the male's anal-fin spots prompt the female to attempt collection and the male releases milt. Detailed spawning observations specific to this species are limited, so behaviour is given at genus level.

Egg & Fry Care

The female orally incubates the brood before releasing free-swimming fry, following the genus pattern of roughly three weeks of mouthbrooding. Because Aulonocara species hybridise readily, do not mix other peacocks in the breeding tank.