Cyathopharynx foai Kigoma "Blue"

Origin and locale/variety: Kigoma--Tanzania, Lake Tanganyika, East Africa

Size: Adults are usually 3.5 to 6.0 inches in aquarium environment.

Sex differences: Males show intense metallic blue/green coloration and very long ventral fins and filaments. The unpaired fins get completely black when excited and/or spawning. Females are quite drab, usually silver to dark gray.

Aquarium behavior: Cyathopharynx is a genus reserved for furcifers and foai. Faoi can be kept in either community set-ups or single species aquaria. In the proper environment, they have no equal when it comes to pure grace and beauty. The males flutter around the aquarium displaying to all fishes, especially females. When not in "display mode", they may appear somewhat plain.

Aquarium diet: C. foai readily accept most foods: flakes, frozen, pellets, and live. A combination of flakes, frozen, and live is recommended. This fish also enjoys grazing algae from the edges of rocks. This is very interesting behavior to watch.

You Need to Know: Cyathopharynx do not look like the beautiful photos seen in books and web sites 100% of the time. Their colors turn on and off like a light bulb....and the patient fishkeeper is more than rewarded when the foai turn it on! The males keep somewhat subdued coloration except when excited or in breeding mode. Juvenile specimens up to around three inches resemble a silver shad, but WATCH OUT!!!-one day one will walk in to the aquarium room and see one of the most fantastic breeding displays one can witness. "It's a FOAI thing"

Compatability: Cyathopharynx do exceptionally well with most Tanganyikan cichlids when kept in a roomy tank. A tank that is at least 48 inches long is recommended. Fish that are not highly recommended are super active fish such as Tropheus, Mbuna, and most other Malawi cichlids.

Observed spawning habits: Males may construct mammoth nests that can reach almost a foot high. The males will literally "disappear" into their nests and lay flat and/or flutter like a butterfly. The female will enter the nest and lay eggs. As the male is fertilizing them, she picks them up to begin the mouthbrooding process.

Other information: C. foai Kigoma is quite uncommon in the United States, especially in larger sizes.

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