Aulonocara sp. Flavescent
Aulonocara sp. Flavescent Blue Dorsal Male pictured.
- Common Name: Blue Neon is used for the Blue Dorsal Flavescent.
- Location Collected From: Usisya. The Blue Dorsal Flavescent is from Undo Reef, Londo, and Chiwindi.
- Approximate Size: Males reach a size of about 5 inches with females staying smaller.
- Food: Not picky. They will eat just about anything from flake, to pellet and even frozen or live foods.
- Water Conditions: They like to have a pH between 7.6 and 9 with a temperature between 76 and 82 degrees.
- Breeding Behavior: Mouthbrooder. The males will chase the females and other fish while defending their territory. They like to have rocks and caves to hide in. My Blue Dorsal Flavescent male was very aggressive to my females just before they would spawn. I had to separate my females from the male so that he wouldn’t stress them causing them to lose their eggs. My Blue Dorsal Flavescent females held for about 14 days and produced 6 – 10 fry. Due to the risk of crossbreeding, this species and all other species of Aulonocara should be kept in separate tanks.
- Care of the Fry: The fry should be fed several feedings a day. They are not picky about their water conditions.
- Tankmates: I have kept mine in with Neolamprologus pulcher “Daffodils, Labidochromis caeruelus, Eretmodus cyanostictus, Synodontis petricola, Labidochromis sp. Hongi, Labidochromis sp. Mbamba, and Thoracochromis brauschi without problems.