Kenyi Cichlid

Maylandia lombardoi, the Kenyi Cichlid, is a strikingly sexually dichromatic mbuna from the rocky coastlines of Lake Malawi. Females and juveniles display vivid blue with bold vertical black barring, while dominant males undergo a complete colour transformation to a uniform orange-yellow with faint dark barring — one of the most dramatic examples of sexual dichromatism in freshwater fish. A highly active and moderately aggressive species best maintained in a specialist mbuna aquarium with overfiltering, numerous rock territories, and a carefully managed male-to-female ratio.

House in a mbuna-dominated aquarium (minimum 200 L) with stacked rockwork providing multiple cave territories. Maintain hard, alkaline water (pH 7.5–8.5, GH 10–25, KH 8–18) at 24–28°C. Feed primarily herbivore-based mbuna foods: spirulina flake, quality mbuna pellets, and blanched vegetables. Keep at least 3 females per male to distribute male attention. Overfilter to handle the high metabolic rate and waste output of an active mbuna community.