Pictured: a gorgeous male Red Top Trewavasae about 4" long, photographed in one of our aquariums by our guy, DrTom.

Be sure to click on the thumbnail images to see the other pics including one of a Golden female.

Or in fact it may be a very rare Golden male!

Click here to see many color varieties of Trewavasae. All Mbuna species, like these Trewavasae, have color variations in different parts of Lake Malawi.

The picture above shows one such variety, the so-called Red Top Trewavasae.

Our supplier is spawning many varieties and in this case shipped us a variety of Assorted Trewavasae.

These fish are young, and so it's difficult to determine what they'll grow up to be, but it'll be exciting to raise some up and see what color patterns they'll develop.

Comments: These are fabulous fish with vibrant colors.

Origin: Trewavasae 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, Trewavasae can grow to be about 5" long, including their tails, which is a very nice size for aquariums.

Rarely, a Trewavasae can grow even longer than 5".

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

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 best to feed to Mbunas.

Smaller sized pellets when young, and larger sized pellets when bigger, is the ideal food for these fish.

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

Water Conditions: Lake Malawi has hard alkaline water and that's best 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 this Trewavasae, 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 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: It's difficult to tell males from females, when they are very small, but easy when they are mature, because the males change color and become a very vibrant blue, while the females usually stay a duller blue.

Breeding: Trewavasae 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.

They are miniature versions of their mother and very cute!

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 Trewavasae and other Mbunas from Lake Malawi have been very popular fish.

Names: The scientific name for Trewavasae is Labeotropheus trewavasae.

Variations: as with all the Mbuna Fish from Lake Malawi, there are several variations of Trewavasae, depending on where in the lake the fish have been caught or where their ancestors were caught.

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 - 03/20/2015

Pet Fish are Cool