Tiger mouth breeder DNZ - Nimbrochromis livingstonii

The beautiful striped Livingston's cichlid, Livingston's Malawi cichlid, spotted cichlid, sleeper or tiger mouth breeder Nimbochromis livingstonii is also known under the synonym Haplochromis livingstonii. This interestingly colored cichlid is native to Lake Malawi in the East African Rift Valley, but can also be found in the upper Shire River and Lake Malombe. As a non-Mbuna Nimbochromis livingstonii lives practically everywhere in Lake Malawi, but seems to prefer the bays densely covered with vallisneria.

Here you can buy German offspring (DNZ) of this great Non-Mbuna cichlid.

The males of the Tiger Mouth Breeder often grow a bit larger than the females; they can reach up to 25 cm in length. In the male ready to spawn, the head is bright blue in color. The aquarium for this mouthbrooding Malawi cichlid should have an edge length of at least 200 cm.

On their anal fin, male tiger mouthbrooders display two yellow egg spots, which encourage the female to snap at these "eggs" during mating to pick up the released semen. This causes the eggs it picks up during mating to be fertilized in its mouth. Livingston's cichlid is a maternal mouthbrooder, meaning that the female incubates the fertilized spawn in her mouth until the fry hatch.

The tiger mouthbrooder is a lie-in hunter that specializes in lying in wait for smaller fish. To do this, it lies on its side and waits for small scavengers, which it then preys upon - this explains the trivial name sleeper. In the aquarium you can feed Nimbochromis livingstonii with cichlid food for carnivorous cichlids or with live food and frozen food.

Males of the Spotted Cichlid Nimbochromis livingstonii are intraspecific aggressive and territorial. Keeping in a larger group with excess females is advisable. If several tiger mouthbrooding males are present in the Malawian aquarium, they need a good structure with stone structures to be able to avoid each other. Hiding places are also necessary for the females so they can retreat. However, plenty of swimming space is also important. Forests of vallisneria correspond to the natural habitat of this interesting cichlid.

Nimbochromis livingstonii is best kept with Malawi cichlids of similar size or larger. Robust species like Foosochromis rostratus, Chilotilapia rhoadesii or Taeniochromis holotaenia are well suited. Also predatory cichlids like Buccochromis or Tyrannochromis are good companions for the Tiger Mouthbrooder. Because of its intraspecific aggressiveness, Livingston's cichlid tends not to be kept in a species tank.

Water requirements for these beautiful hunters from Lake Malawi are typical: rather soft to medium hard water with a pH of 7.5 to 8.5 and an aquarium temperature between 22 and 28 °C.

Breeding of Nimbochromis livingstonii in the aquarium is possible. Feed the young tiger mouthbrooders with freshly hatched Artemia nauplii in the first time and later with slightly crushed cichlid food and larger live food.

Our food recommendation: The NatureHolic Cichfeed has a grain size of 1.5 mm and is therefore also suitable for larger fish. The NH Cichfeed is a soft granulate for predominantly carnivorous ornamental fish. It has the same consistency as small crustaceans and insect larvae that fish naturally eat, and the soft granules protect the fish mouth from micro-injuries that can result from hard feed granules.

Our plant recommendation: For planting, use NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planarians and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend when keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and husbandry.