White Tail Mbuna Cichlids

White-tail Black Acei cichlid

The White-tail Black Acei cichlid is known only from the west coast of Lake Malawi. Here it inhabits the sandy/rocky shoreline where tree branches hang down into the water or have fallen in, their specialised cuspid dentition allowing them to harvest algae from submerged wood. Schools of 30-50 individuals surrounding a large log is not an uncommon sight. This fish belongs to the Mbuna group of cichlids. The aquarium should be at least 5ft long and aquascaped to emulate a rocky reef effect with some open expanses of sand.  such as driftwood and ocean rock can be used to build sturdy structures which stretch from the base of the tank to near the surface of the water, but do remember the tank will require adequate buffering if a moderate amount of wood is added. Structures should be built with the purpose of creating many crevices for the fish to explore but constructed in such a way so as to keep the rocks/wood stable if the fish start to dig around and underneath. Although a substrate of coral sand or Aragonite is often recommended to help to keep the water hard and alkaline, Mbuna feel safer and show better colours over a darker substrate. The Aragonite or coral sand can always be placed into a mesh bag and kept inside the external filter for buffering purposes. Although most rock-dwelling species are extremely aggressive and need to be kept under conditions of ‘controlled-overcrowding’ to prevent territorial disputes ending fatally, the White-tailed Acei cichlid is not a hugely belligerent species, although it is best to keep one male in a harem situation with several females (keeping just one female with a male will result in continual harassment and possibly death). This species can be kept successfully alongside,  other easygoing Mbuna  etc, although it is best to avoid fish with a similar colour pattern.