Description

The Deepwater Hap is known from the eastern side of the lake, at Chiwindi to Mara Point, and from Lumessi to Ntekete. Here, it is found in shallow waters of the sandy habitat, where it feeds on algae and invertebrates stirred up from the substrate by Taeniolethrinops praeorbitalis and other species which like to dig. It was previously believed to have occurred in much deeper waters, hence the common name, which is now a bit of a misnomer but has well and truly stuck. The aquarium should be at least 6ft long and aquascaped with open expanses of sand in addition to a few rocky areas and some thickets of Vallisneria. Decor such as ocean rock can be used to build sturdy structures which stretch from the base of the tank to near the surface of the water. These structures should be built with the purpose of creating many crevices for the fish to explore but constructed in such a way so as to keep the rocks stable if the fish start to dig around and underneath them. Although a substrate of coral sand or Aragonite is often recommended to help to keep the water hard and alkaline, these fish feel safer and show better colours over a darker substrate. The Aragonite or coral sand can always be placed into a mesh bag and kept inside the external filter for buffering purposes. The Deepwater Hap is a relatively peaceful species, and these fish are sometimes observed in large shoals in their natural habitat. In the home aquarium, groups can be maintained together, ideally consisting of one male with a harem of several females. However, if the tank is particularly voluminous, multiple males can be kept together (again with several females allocated to each), but do provide them with an abundance of hiding places/visual barriers so they are able to set up individual territories. Aggression will increase when ready to spawn, so careful observation is required. Suitable tankmates could include relatively peaceful rift lake fish such as other Haps, Aulonocara species, some of the more mild-mannered Mbuna, or Synodontis catfish etc. Several geographical colour variants exist, including ‘Blue Otter’, ‘Gome’, ‘Londo’, ‘Mandalawi’, and ‘Undu’.

Feeding

Offer a variety of meaty frozen foods. Smaller specimens will take mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, and Mysis shrimp, whilst larger fish will take krill, prawns, lancefish, whitebait etc. A good quality flake and appropriately sized cichlid pellets should also be provided.