Taeniochromis holotaenia

Remarks:  Taenichromis holotaenia is the only named member of its genus and is only very rarely seen in the hobby. It is a large, predatory cichlid from Lake Malawi that hunts small cichlids and other fish. They have a large black stripe that runs from their eye to the caudal peduncle and is present in both juveniles and adults. This stripe is where the Taeni- part of their genus name comes from as it roughly means "stripe" in Latin. Juveniles and females tend to remain mostly silver, but mature males will turn a dark blue with a white edge on the top of the dorsal fin. When in breeding dress, adult males light up with even more color as their more subdued blue hue turns electric and they get bright yellow or orange coloration on their fins and belly. These bright colors look absolutely fantastic in a hap or peacock and hap community tank. It should be noted it can take some time for T. holotaenia to mature so one will have to be patient if purchasing juveniles. This wait it absolutely worth it in the end as these fish are absolutely stunning predator haps.

  In the wild, T. holotaenia can be found at some truly impressive depths in Lake Malawi, typically between 23 ft all the way down to 200ft. They can often be found hunting in the open-water in large packs that can sometimes exceed 100 individuals in size. Interestingly, sometimes other species of  open-water dwelling haps such as Nimbochromis species will join in on these hunts as these pursuit piscivores chase down smaller cichlids and other fish. Since T. holotaenia are used to having nearly endless space to swim in the wild, they will need to be provided a large aquarium with plenty of swimming space to feel comfortable. They should not be housed in aquariums that are not at least 6 feet long with 125 gallon tanks usually being the smallest aquariums that meet this criteria. While these predator haps will attempt to swallow anything small enough to fit in their mouths, they are mostly peaceful so long as they are given enough space. Males can grow territorial with members of their own species so even more space will be required if one plans to have more than one to a tank.

  T. holotaenia are carnivores so a diet high in protein sources from fish and invertebrate meats is recommended to keep them healthy. Pellets high in these proteins along with frozen thawed foods such as bloodworms and krill can be good options to meet their dietary needs. Ensuring T. holotaenia are fed a diverse and nutritious diet will encourage them to not only be healthy, but will also bring out their best colors. Many keepers have noted them to not be picky and that they are voracious feeders making feeding time very entertaining. Well cared for haps that are fed well and kept in the right parameters are likely to spawn given one has a pair or breeding group. As these fish are naturally pit spawners where males will dig pits in the sand to attract females, providing a sandy substrate will further encourage spawning. Like with most haps, the female will take up the eggs in her mouth after spawning to mouthbrood until the fry hatch and are free swimming.