Metriaclima nigrodorsalis "Nkhungu Point"
Metriaclima nigrodorsalis, which has a some geographical variation, can be found on some locations along the coast of Mozambique between N`kolongwe and Meponda. The variant shown here which was known before as Metriaclima sp."black dorsal nkhungu" and Pseudotropheus sp."black dorsal nkhungu" can only be found in the neighbourhood of Nkhungu Point. Most of the times they are living there on depths between 10 and 40 metres in a sediment-rich rocky environment but sometimes they can also be found in the deeper intermediate zones from rocks to sand.
In the lake the males of these species can grow to 10 cm, in the aquarium however they can grow a little taller because of a good feeding. The males can then grow to about 12 cm, females grow to about 9 cm.
Metriaclima nigrodorsalis can behave intolerant against equal species, against other inhabitants they are in general tolerant.
You can best keep this species with multiple females and other mbuna in an aquarium with a lot of hiding places.
In the lake they are mainly feeding themselves with algae and invertebrates which are living in these algae. In the aquarium they are comfortable with any food. They take everything they get offered, like spirulina pellets, mysis, artemia, cyclops and shrimp-peas mix. Food rich of algae like spirulina pellets or flakes is very important to them so this should not be missing on their menu.
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