Maylandia lombardoi

Maylandia lombardoi
male (front) and female (back)
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Subfamily:	Pseudocrenilabrinae
Genus:	Maylandia
Species:	M. lombardoi
Binomial name
Maylandia lombardoi (W. E. Burgess, 1977)
Synonyms
Metriaclima lombardoi W. E. Burgess, 1977)

Maylandia lombardoi, is a 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long freshwater fish from the family Cichlidae. This species is popular in the aquarium hobby where it is sold under a variety of common names including: lombardoi, kenyi or kennyi. This species is sometimes seen in the genus Metriaclima owing to a dispute in which a minority of cichlid researchers do not consider Maylandia valid (see Maylandia for discussion.

Distribution and habitat

It is endemic to the rocky shores of Mbenji Island, Lake Malawi in east Africa. The species is highly sexually dimorphic, females and juvenile males are pale white-blue with several blue-black vertical bands extending into the dorsal fin. Adult males turn bright yellow with faint brown bars crossing the body; fins are plain yellow with egg spots on the anal fin.

In the aquarium

Kenyi cichlids are sold for the aquarium hobby.

Reproduction

Like most mbuna cichlids, this species is a maternal mouthbrooder. When mouthbrooding, females may defend a small territory and assume the colouration of males.

Images of Kenyi cichlids

• 
  A male M. lombardoi in an aquarium.
• 
  M. lombardoi male.
• 
  A female M. lombardoi in an aquarium.
• 
  A female M. lombardoi with faint stripes.

See also

• Mbuna
• List of freshwater aquarium fish species

References

• Dick Mills, Aquarium Fish, Dorling Kindersly Books, 2000
• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Maylandia lombardoi". FishBase. October 2006 version.