Melanochromis auratus

Alternative names

 * , Malawi Golden Cichlid,

Sexing

 * The male and female Auratus have completely different colouration. The female is slightly smaller and her body is a golden yellow with black/brown lateral stripes which are bordered in white. The fins are also yellow. The mature male's body is black/brown in colour with a yellow stripe running the length of the body. The top of his body is a mustard colour which is followed up through the dorsal fin.
 * It must be noted that this fish has the capability of changing sex, in an environment devoid of males, a female will switch sex. It's less common for males to switch to female.

Tank compatibility

 * An aggressive fish, keep this fish in an African Cichlid set up only. Recommend having 1 male to every 3 females.

Diet

 * Will take most foods including pellet, flake and live/frozen foods. The Auratus will also graze on algae and supplementing their diet with spirulina is beneficial.

Feeding regime

 * Feed once or twice a day.

Environment Specifics

 * Prefers rockwork décor with hiding places. Does best in hard alkaline water. Good substrate choices could be Dolomite or crushed coral to aid in buffering the water.

Behaviour

 * An aggressive and territorial fish.

Identification

 * See sexing. The fish is fairly elongated with the anal and dorsal fins being fairly rounded, whereas the caudal fin is more triangular.