4 Auratus cichlid

Auratus Cichlid

The Melanochromis auratus, commonly called the Auratus Cichlid, is a striking Mbuna species native to Lake Malawi. This fish is well known for its dramatic color change between sexes. Females and juveniles are bright yellow with black horizontal stripes, while adult males become dark blue to black with lighter stripes.

Auratus cichlids are very territorial and are considered one of the more aggressive Mbuna species. Because of their strong personality, they are best kept with other robust African cichlids in well-structured rock aquariums.

Care Requirements

• Temperament: Aggressive
• Diet: Omnivore/herbivore (spirulina flakes, cichlid pellets, vegetable matter)
• Temperature: 75–80°F
• pH: 7.8–8.6
• Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons
• Adult Size: 4–5 inches

Tank Setup

• Plenty of rockwork and caves
• Strong filtration and water circulation
• Best kept with other Mbuna from Lake Malawi 

Notes:

Assortment includes a mix of colors and patterns; Exact colors and markings will vary; Stock photo used; fish received may differ. 🐟

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Domestic shipping only! Sorry, we cannot ship to anyone in Hawaii & Washington State.

We ship on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday via USPS Priority Mail. Once we get your order, we will ship it within 1 to 5 business days. For the safety of the animals, we do not ship aquatic life on Thursday and Friday. We do not want live aquatic animals sitting in USPS warehouse over the weekend. Thank you for your understanding.

Any orders placed before 12:00 PM on Tuesday will be shipped out that same week. orders placed after 12:00 PM on Tuesday will now be processed the following week

Male/Female: Will be picked at random (no custom orders)

Note: color may be slightly off from photo.

We placed a penny at the corner of the tank so you can have an idea of the size of the fish.

Guaranteed to arrive alive you have one hour of delivery to report any death. You must take a picture while the fish is dead in the bag before it’s opened.

Fish’s color might be off first 3 days due to shipping and stressed fish.

we do not refund shipping costs