PİKE CHİCLİD (Melanochromis Chipokae)

Ortak İsim	Pike Cichlid
Bilimsel Adı	Melanochromis Chipokae
Dağıtım	Afrika/Malawi Gölü, Kayalık habitat ve orta bölgeler
Beslenme	Omnivor(Etçil ve Otçul)
Mizaç	Aşırı bölgeci ve çok Agresif.
Bakım	Yeni başlayanlar için ve karma cichlid akvaryumları için ideal bir balık değildir.Bunun sebebi aşırı agresif olmasındandır.Akvaryum baskın erkeklerin diğerlerini göremeyecek şekilde plastik bitkiler ve yatay kayalarla dizayn edilmelidir. Sebze ve protein içerikli granül yemler ve canlı yemlerle beslenmelidir.Kaya dekorları ile mağaralar oluşturulmalıdır.Kum kazmayı sevdiklerinden, kayaların yıkılma riskine karşı tedbir alınmalıdır.Baskın erkeklrin, diğer erkekleri öldürme ihtimali vardır.
PH	7.0-8.5
Sıcaklık	22C - 27C
Maksimum   Boy	11 cm
Cinsiyet	Erkeklerde vücut rengi mavi.Dişilerde ise sarıdır.Erkek yan çizgisi açık gri renginde, Dişilerde ise kahverengi bir yatay şerit ve turuncu bir kuyruk vardır.
Üretim	Bir erkek için, 4-5 dişi önerilir.Üreme tankında, kayalarla dekore edilmiş mağaralara ihtiyaç vardır.Ağızda kuluçka yöntemi ile olgunlaşır.4 haftalık kuluçka dönemi vardır.Yavrular, ilk 10 gün taze gıda ve artemia ile beslenebilir.Ağızda kukuçka döneminde, erkek ve diğer dişiler tanktan çıkarılmalıdır.
Varyansları
Ana renkler	Sarı, Mavi

Scientific Name: Melanochromis chipokae Common Name(s): Malawi Pike Cichlid Geo. Origin: Chipoka Rocks Habitat: Sediment-Free Rocky Habitat Diet: Omnivore Gender Differences: Dimorphic Breeding: Maternal Mouthbrooder Temperament: Aggressive Conspecific Temperament: Extremely Aggressive Maximum Size: 5" Temperature: 78 - 82°F pH: 7.8 - 8.6 Water Hardness: Hard Difficulty: 3

Pronunciation: Refer to our Pronunciation Key for an explanation of the phonetic symbols.

Habitat: This is the primary location where the cichlid is found and is a generalization. This does not    mean a fish cannot be found in other habitats.

Diet: Many cichlids specialize in eating one type of food; notwithstanding, some of these specialized   feeders are flexible and can be opportunistic feeders.

Temperament: This describes the overall demeanor of a cichlid toward other tankmates that    are of a different species. Consider that there is variability in temperament due to various factors,   including aquarium size, tankmates of similar appearance, stocking levels, and order of introduction.   There may even be some variability among individual specimens.

Conspecific Temperament: This describes the overall demeanor of a cichlid toward other tank-   mates of the same species. Consider that there is variability in temperament due to such factors as    aquarium size, stocking levels and order of introduction. There may even be some variability among    individual specimens.

Maximum Size: This is in regards to total length (including the tail) of typical aquarium specimens.    Wild specimens may not attain this size, or may in fact grow larger than aquarium raised individuals    due to various factors. Also consider that this is the typical maximum size and there are exceptional    individuals that will exceed it.

Difficulty: This measure is a relative value, comparing a single species against all other cichlids.    This only accounts for maintanence in the aquarium and not breeding considerations.   1 = easy and forgiving, 5 = extremely challenging.

Comments:

This highly aggressive cichlid has a dark blue body with light blue bars The females have much more distinctive, yellow and black coloration. The Melanochromis chipokae is considered omnivorous, but according to stomach content analysis it's primary diet is crustaceans, insect larvae and small fish.

by Brett Harrington

Melanochromis chipokae is a mbuna that is commonly available at many local pet stores, and has been a mainstay of the hobby since the 1970's. It is named after it's original collection point, Chipoka Island at Chidunga Rocks. It is a very common cichlid here, but is also seen in smaller numbers at Mumbo, Thumbi West, Nakatenga and Mbenji Island. Most often available as a juvenile, it is attractively colored as a yellow fish with two black vertical stripes on the body. The chipokae can be differentiated from the similar looking Melanochromis auratus in the following ways; auratusjuveniles will have white lines, in addition to their yellow and black coloration, the chipokae also has a more pointed snout, and a larger mouth. As the Melanochromis chipokae begins to mature, the males will begin to change color, to an attractive dark blue/purple, with lighter blue stripes. This is a large and robust fish, that grows to 7"(17cm) in the wild, but has been known to grow even larger in the aquarium. The Melanochromis chipokae is considered omnivorous, but it's primary diet is crustaceans, insect larvae and small fish. In the aquarium they will readily accept any diet that includes flake foods, high quality pellets, brine shrimp and Mysis shrimp. Typical of most fish from Lake Malawi, they prefer an aquarium with harder water, with a range of 7.6 to 8.5 being ideal. An ideal hardness would be considered to be in the range of 7 to 18 dh. Lake Malawi has very stable temperatures, and in the aquarium this fish is best kept in the 75 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit (24-26 Celsius). It is found in the intermediate habitat, mixed between the rocky areas, and the sand areas. It is also a fish that stays in relatively shallow waters, between 5 to 15 meters deep. The very minimum tank size that I would recommend forMelanochromis chipokae is a 4ft, 75 gallon aquarium. As mentioned previously, they can grow to a rather large size. In the wild the males are only weakly territorial in the defense of their spawning sites. This contrasts severely with their behavior in the aquarium, where they can be one of the most aggressive mbuna. They are usually aggressive to all species in the aquarium, but particularly so with their own kind. It is best to keep at least three females for each male. If you keep less, it is likely that the females will be chased relentlessly, with deaths being a real possibility. It is best to provide multiple hiding places, for chased fish to hide from the aggression of the chipokae. Appropriate mbuna tankmates include Metriaclima lombardoi(kenyii), Metriaclima "zebra complex fish", Metriaclima crabro, Tropheops,Labeotropheus, andPseudotropheus "elongatus complex fish". In tanks of six foot and larger, they can also be kept with larger more aggressive Haplochromines. If attempting this, it is much better to start with much larger Hap's, in order to avoid them being overly harassed by the chipokae. Appropriate "Hap's" would includeNimbochromis, Dimidiochromis, Tyrannochromis, Fossochromis andBuccochromis varieties. Breeding the M. chipokae is not particularly difficult, and they tend to become sexually mature at a very young size. I've seen holding females at slightly less than 2"(5cm). The fry are ready to be released, and fully developed by 21 days, and a larger female may carry up to 50 fry per mouthful. The fry are miniatures of their mother at this size, and grows quicker than most mbuna. The fry can be raised on crushed flakes, or freshly hatched artemia (baby brine shrimp). While the Melanochromis chipokae is a very attractive fish, it is best left to those with larger aquariums. If you have a large aquarium, then they are well worth keeping.  References: Andreas Spreinat (1996). Aqualex Malawi Cichlids, CD. Germany: Dahne Verlag GmbH Froese, R. and D. Pauly. (Editors.) (2005). FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (11/2005). Ad Konings (2001). Malawi Cichlids in their natural habitat, 3rd edition. Cichlid Press, p175-177 Ad Konings (1995). Malawi Cichlids in their natural habitat, 2nd edition. Germany: Cichlid Press, p 168