Lake Malawi Cichlids

Dozens of fish in a large aquarium

There are many cichlids who live at the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo. Keep reading to learn about their history and species! 

Lake Malawi Cichlids Fun Facts

Our cichlids are species from Lake Malawi. This lake is between Malawi, Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa and is 350 miles long. This lake was originally small with no fish. Between 46,000 and 2000 years ago, 6 floods from nearby rivers brought fish into the lake. Over time, the fish changed, specializing in how they feed and breed.

  • Approximately 500 to 800 species of cichlids live in the lake. Most are found nowhere else.
  • Each species eats a different type of food so they can all live in the same lake without running out of things to eat.
  • They are diverse in their behavior, color and breeding habits.
  • Unlike most fish, which lay their eggs and leave them to be fertilized and the young to take care of themselves, cichlids mothers “mouth brood” the fertilized eggs. The mother keeps them in her mouth for a month and during that time does not eat. When they are ready to be on their own, she releases them in a protected place.
  • They are known for having evolved rapidly into closely related but morphologically diverse species and are important for the study of speciation in evolution.

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