When I had been running my 430-liter aquarium for about six months, I felt like trying my hand at some new species, and it ended up being the beginning of my Malawi trend when I fell in love with this bright yellow fish with black fins. I started by buying 3 Goldens, where I supposedly bought one male and two females, but judging by their behavior, I am convinced it was the other way around. It is usually quite difficult to distinguish males and females before they are fully grown.
Behavior
Of the Malawi cichlids I have had so far, the Golden has been the most peaceful (and shy). I had them in my community aquarium, but since I had started a Malawi aquarium with several other mbunas, I wanted to gather them all in one place and I moved the three Goldens I had over to the Malawi aquarium, but they didn't last long there, as a very dominant maingano unfortunately killed them.
Fortunately, my Goldens had managed to breed while they were in the community aquarium and from that brood of fry, 7 grew up. Out of those 7, I have chosen the most beautiful ones, 1 male and 3 females, and they breed regularly, so I now have plenty of small Goldens growing up. To avoid inbreeding, I have supplemented with two juveniles from another breeder - I hoped they were two females, but I am pretty sure one of them is a male.
Feeding and care
Goldens enjoy rocks where they can hide in between, and they generally need good hiding places and areas where they can feel safe. They are rarely the dominant species in the aquarium, but usually, they are not bothered by the dominant species. I still don't quite know what went wrong with my mainganos, but since then, I have actually added more fish to the aquarium to spread the aggression (It's called "overstocking" and is often used regarding Malawi cichlids). They eat almost anything, but like most mbunas, they do not benefit from food that is too rich - they need greens in their food, e.g., flake food with spirulina and they also enjoy frozen cyclops. Note: Despite the fact that I have had them in a community aquarium myself, it is not a community fish - it can easily snatch adult male guppies in one mouthful and likewise several tetra species. If it is the only Malawi cichlid in a traditional community aquarium, it can become very dominant.
Spawning and fry
Goldens are easy to get to breed - periodically, the dominant male selects a mature female and they spawn in typical mbuna fashion, where they swim quickly in a circle and almost chase each other's tail fin, also called "tailchasing" in most books. When spawning is over, the female retreats to a quiet place where she tries to avoid attracting attention. For the first few days after spawning, they usually come rushing when feeding, but since they have their mouths full of eggs, they cannot eat, and eventually, they also stay in the background when feeding. My Goldens typically carry the eggs for at least 4 weeks, and after about 3 weeks, I catch the female and put her in a separate aquarium where she can release the fry in peace. The day after she has released the fry, I move her back to the main aquarium again.
