Baby Fish: yes these are baby fish that were born here in our facilities.

In most species the babies do not look like the adults, shown in the pictures, but these babies can grow to look like adults.

Above: a young male Msobo Mbuna swimming in one of our aquariums, when one of us snapped this picture.

Click here to see several pictures of this species.

Comments: These are fabulous fish with vibrant colors.

Origin: Msobos are Mbunas, which is a large family of Cichlid fish that originally lived only in Lake Malawi in East Africa.

But now they live in aquariums all over the world.

There are several species of Mbunas for sale in this store.

Maximum Size: In aquariums, Msobos can grow to be about 5" long, including their tails. Males are usually a bit bigger than females from the same spawn.

Behaviors: Msobos are usually aggressive fish and from time to time males have long energetic battles.

All Mbunas also spend a lot of their time digging and moving the aquarium gravel to create caves.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include, other Mbuna species and Synodontis Catfish.

Click here for more about Synodontis Catfish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: Mbunas live best from about 75 to 80-degrees F. with 78 being perhaps ideal.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Pellets is the best food for all Mbunas.

Smaller sized pellets when they're small, and larger sized pellets when they grow larger.

Do not feed them meaty foods or worms, or they may get Malawi Bloat.

Click here to learn more about and shop online for premium fish foods.

Water Conditions: Lake Malawi has hard alkaline water and that's the best type of water for all the fish, whose ancestors lived there.

But these fish can adapt to most types of water, and so as usual it's best not to try to change the pH or alkalinity.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: Mbunas like these Msobos, will eventually need to live in an aquarium with at least 80-gallons of water.

Each Mbuna will need at least 5-gallons of water, and Mbunas live best in an aquarium with at least 15 other Mbunas of about the same size.

Decor: Mbunas do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel.

Live plants are beautiful and improve the water quality, but Mbunas will usually dig plants up, so most Mbuna aquariums do not have live plants. Mbunas love rocks and rocky caves.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.

Most 80-gallon aquariums have room along the back for at least two Penguin 350B Filters, and this is sort of a minimal Mbuna set up.

Better is a 100, 120, 150, or 200-gallon aquarium with as many Penguin 350B Filters as will fit across the back.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range.

Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: Mbunas can live for several years. Keep the water conditions excellent and feed them premium foods, and they will most likely breed and produce the next generation of fish for your aquarium.

Gender: When very young all Msobos are yellowish-orange.

As they mature the males become dark with with lighter markings and the females remain yellowish-orange.

Both genders are very pretty.

Breeding: Msobos and all Mbunas are mouthbrooders.

A female lays eggs, a male fertilizes the eggs, and the female picks up the eggs in her mouth.

She'll brood them for about 3-weeks, then release them in the aquarium.

Click here to read more about breeding mouthbrooders. the aquarium.

Click here for a lot more about breeding various tropical fish in aquariums.

Popularity: Since the 1960s Mbunas from Lake Malawi have been very popular aquarium fish.

Names: The scientific name for Msobo is Maylandia sp. msobo.

Variations: There are variations of most species of Mbunas, but we not now aware of any variations of these Msobos.

Click here for a lot more information about keeping and caring for Mbunas, including a picture gallery.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.

DrTom - 12/28/2014