150 Aggressive, Colorful African Cichlids Go On Exhibit at Blank Park Zoo

By Ryan Bickel 

Des Moines, IA - With colors as intense as a fourth of July fireworks display, Iowa’s Blank Park Zoo introduced its newest exhibit - an aquarium with approximately 150 African cichlids. (Pronounced sik-lid)

The Zoo’s cichlids are a small fish that hail from Lake Malawi, which is the third largest freshwater lake in Africa and the ninth largest lake in the world.

“The Lake Malawi African Cichlid display represents a type of fish with incredible diversity … there are over 1500 species of cichlids and 500 are native to Lake Malawi,” said Chad Comer, Animal Curator. “These small fish have a variety of colors that range from yellow, orange, blue, white, striped and more.”

The African cichlids the Zoo are displaying come from the Mbuna and Utaka groups. The Mbuna are cichlids whose distribution is almost exclusively limited to the rocky and rubble zones (as recreated in our exhibit) and are primarily herbivores. The Utaka cichlids lead a mostly pelagic existence except when they return to the shores during their breeding season and consume meat in their diet. 

The Lake Malawi African Cichlid display is made possible through a gift from Matt and Heather Brown.

More about the African Cichlid:

Almost all of the species of cichlid in Lake Malawi are polygamous mouthbrooders, one dominant male will have a harem of females - the females will incubate the eggs in their mouths for a little over 20 days and then will release the fry as they hatch. Often the female will take care of the fry for up to 2 weeks after they hatch and are initially released from her mouth.
It is not uncommon for African Cichlids to live 7 to 10 years.
Threats to the Lake Malawi African cichlids include over-fishing and sedimentation.

More about Lake Malawi:

Is situated on the borders of Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.
This is a freshwater lake.
It is approximately 375 miles long and 53 miles wide.
It is 758 meters deep
Water temperature ranges from 24 to 29 degrees Celsius
Water is clear with visibility up to 20 meters.

The Blank Park Zoo, Iowa’s WILDEST Adventure, is open everyday 10am-5pm. Admission is $9.95 for adults, $4.95 for children under 12, and $7.95 for seniors and active military. The Zoo is located at 7401 SW 9th St., Des Moines, IA 50315. Visit the Zoo online at http://www.blankparkzoo.com. The Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The AZA is America’s leading accrediting organization that sets rigorous, professional standards for zoos and aquariums. The AZA is building North America's largest wildlife conservation movement by engaging and inspiring the 143 million annual visitors to its member institutions and their communities to care about and take action to help protect wildlife.

To view Blank Park Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-113-Blank_Park_Zoo_in_Iowa