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Common Name: Bumblebee Cichlid, Hornet Cichlid
Scientific Name: Pseudotropheus Crabro
If you are looking for an extremely dominant, aggressive cichlid, this is the fish for you. Despite it's aggressive disposition, it's a great fish but it's best to have a lot of rockwork and caves to allow other fish to escape.
An interesting note about the Crabro is that in the wild they share space with the Bagrus meridionalis (a 5ft catfish). The Crabro maintains it's yellow and black colors until they are ready to steal some of the catfish's eggs. At that time, it changes to the color black and sneaks into the nest to eat the eggs. Once it is full, it changes back to the yellow and black colors and the catfish is none the wiser.
| Temperature |
pH Range |
Hardness (dH) |
Max. Size |
Min. Tank Size |
Swim Area |
| 78F - 82F | 7.8 - 8.6 | 15 dH | 8 inches | 55 gallons | All Areas |
Origin:
Lake Malawi, Africa
Life Span:5 - 8 years
Diet:Omnivore
Additional Diet Information:Not picky. Will take pellets, sticks, flakes, frozen foods, freeze dried foods, etc.
Gender Difference:Dimorphic
Juvenile male and female are both yellow with black bars, but most adult males appear fully black. The male is usually larger than the female and has more eggspots.
Breeding:Maternal Mouthbrooder
It is best to keep these fish 1 male: many female. The male will become extremely aggressive when spawning and will kill the female.
Temperament/Social Behavior:- Aggressive
- Active
- Will eat smaller fish
- Territorial
- Aggressive when spawning
- Males aggressive toward females
Occasionally Available