Sharks and Rays

Ray-finned fishes

Eels and Morays

Halosaurs and deep-sea Spiny eels

Jellynose fishes

Lightfishes and Dragonfishes

Live bearers, Killifishes and Rivulines

Perch-like fish

Antarctic dragonfishes

Asian leaffishes

Asian seaperches

Asiatic glassfishes

Australian salmon

Bagless glassfishes

Barbeled grunters

Barbled plunderfishes

Bigeyes or catalufas

Butterflyfishes

Cales and weed-whitings

Catadromous icefishes

Chameleonfishes

Climbing gouramies

Collared wrigglers

Combtooth blennies

Crocodile icefishes

Crocodile toothfishes

Deep-sea scalyfins

Deepwater cardinalfishes

Drums or croakers

Emperors or scavengers

False scorpionfishes

False trevallies

Freshwater sleepers

Freshwater tripletails

Grunters or tigerperches

Jacks and pompanos

Kissing gourami

Lanternbellies, temperate ocean-basses

Long-finned pike

Longfin escolars

Mackerels, tunas, bonitos

Moonyfishes or fingerfishes

Oceanic basslets

Patagonian blennies

Pike-, tube- and flagblennies

Sand stargazers

Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets

Slimys, slipmouths or ponyfishes

Slope dragonets

Snake mackerels

Snaketooth fishes

Southern basses

Southern sandfishes

Spadefishes, batfishes and scats

Spiny plunderfishes

Splendid perches

Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes

Temperate basses

Temperate perches

Threadfin breams, Whiptail breams

Threefin blennies

Pikes and Mudminnows

Pipefishes and Seahorses

Pricklefishes, Bigscales and Gibberfishes

Puffers and Filefishes

Pygmy sunfishes

Scorpionfishes and Flatheads

Sticklebacks and Seamoths

Sturgeons and Paddlefishes

Swallowers and Gulpers

Tarpons and Tenpounders

Trout-perches, Pirate perches and Cavefish

Velifers, Tube-eyes and Ribbonfishes

Lobe-finned fishes

Setting up your tank

DIY Fish Tank Stand

250L community aquarium

Golden mbuna (Melanochromis auratus) fish species and information / pictures of Golden mbuna - Melanochromis auratus

Golden mbuna (Melanochromis auratus) fish species information

Scientific Name
Melanochromis auratus

Common Name
Golden mbuna

Biology
Found in rocky habitats. Feeds from the biocover by nibbling and picking on the algae (Ref. 5595). Aquarium keeping: aggressive towards conspecifics; many females for one male; minimum aquarium size 100 cm (Ref. 51539).

Classification

Classified By

Boulenger, 1897

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Cichlids (Cichlidae)

Distribution

Region

Africa

Distribution

Africa: Endemic to Lake Malawi. Occurs in the southern part of the lake from Jalo Reef, north of Nkhota Kota southward along the entire western coast down to Crocodile Rocks including all islands and reefs. Not known on the eastern shore (Ref. 5595).

Range

12°S - 15°S

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

22 °C

Water Temperature To

26 °C

Depth From - meters

Unknown m

Depth To - meters

Unknown m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Freshwater; ; pH range: 7.0 - 8.5; dH range: 10 - 15 demersal

Trophic Level

2 s.e. 0.00 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

False

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

True

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

11.0 cm

Common Length

Unknown cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Aquarium: highly commercial

Vulnerability

Low vulnerability (13 of 100)

Resilience

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Least Concern (LC)