Moorii (Kaiser II) Cichlid

The Tropheus Moorii (Kaiser II) Cichlid originates from the rocky coastal waters of Lake Tanganyika, Africa. They are completely black except for a yellow vertical band that runs the entire width of the fish in the middle of their body. These fish have the amazing ability to hide this band when stressed. Like other species in the Tropheus genus, they are extremely aggressive towards their own kind, and should be housed in groups of 6 or more.

The Tropheus Moorii Cichlid should be maintained in an aquarium of at least 50 gallons, ideally in a large number of the same species, or with other smaller semi-aggressive Tanganyikan or Malawian cichlids. Incorporate plenty of rocks and African driftwood in order to build caves. Provide a sandy bottom of aragonite to maintain the necessary high pH and alkalinity.

The Tropheus Moorii Cichlid is a mouth brooder, and breeding is more difficult than most of the cichlids. This is a very slow growing species which may take a few years to reach sexual maturity. They are one of the more difficult species to determine the sex of. The males typically grow faster than the females and have a deeper body. To increase the chance of spawning, house 5 or 6 females with one male. Provide a number of caves for the pair to choose from, and to reduce aggression. Incubation occurs in about 28 days. Feed the fry finely crushed flake food for the first few months until they gain an interest in seaweed or lettuce.

Their diet should be high in vegetable matter. Offer dried seaweed or romaine lettuce on a feeding clip daily, and supplement their diet with a quality vegetable based flake or pellet food.