Hajomaylandi Cichlid (Maylandia hajomaylandi) Breeding Guide

Breeding Maylandia hajomaylandi: sexing the blue male, harem setup, an 18-21 day mouthbrooding hold over a clutch of 15-30 eggs and raising the fry.

Overview

Maylandia hajomaylandi is a mbuna endemic to Lake Malawi, known from the rocky shores around Chizumulu Island and Chiwi Rocks, where it lives in the transition zones between rock and sand. The species, whose name honours the cichlid author Hans Joachim Mayland, is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Males reach about 10.5 cm in the wild but can grow to around 16 cm in the aquarium, while females stay smaller at around 8.5 cm. It is a maternal mouthbrooder that can be bred by an intermediate keeper.

Sexing

Males are larger and more brightly coloured, with a steel-blue body crossed by nine to ten dark vertical bars and a yellow-to-orange head extending onto the belly and fins. Females are smaller with a yellowish to beige base colour and less pronounced bars, and juveniles resemble females.

Conditioning

Condition the group on a good herbivore-leaning diet in stable hard, alkaline water within the species' maintenance range. Well-fed females in firm condition produce the best clutches.

Breeding Setup

Keep a harem of one male with two or three females to reduce aggression directed at any single fish, and provide rockwork with caves and flat surfaces as spawning sites. Although less aggressive than the related Kenyi, the male is still territorial and chases other males away.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The female lays her eggs and immediately takes them into her mouth, where they are fertilised in the typical mbuna fashion. The clutch is not large, usually about 15 to 30 eggs. Males turn pale and become more territorial when ready to spawn.

Egg & Fry Care

The female incubates the eggs orally and releases the fry roughly 18 to 21 days after spawning. Released fry can be fed finely crushed flake food, and in a matured aquarium they will also graze on algae.

Common Challenges

Because the clutch is small, yields per spawn are modest. The female does not feed while holding and loses condition, so she should be left undisturbed; moving a holding female risks her spitting out or eating the brood. As with all Maylandia, keep only one species per tank to avoid hybridisation.