rm
Passport
- Family
- African Cichlids
- Grows to
- 12.5 cm (4.9")
- Lives
- 8–10 years
- Temperament
- Semi aggressive
- Care
- Beginner
- Swims
- Near the surface
- Keep
- In a group of 6 or more
- Water
- 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
Malawi
Care requirements
i
On record for Yellow Tail Acei: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level.
Not on record for Yellow Tail Acei: tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 284 L / 75.0 US gal
- pH 7.6–8.8
- Hardness 10–25 dGH
- Diet herbivore
Keeping notes
An open-water mbuna that swims in a loose group rather than holding a cave. The same rules as the rest of the Malawi tank: crowded on purpose, rock to the surface, a big filter, weekly water changes, and never with gentler fish.
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Acei are the mbuna that feeds off wood, which is unusual enough to shape everything about keeping them. In Lake Malawi they graze the algae growing on submerged logs rather than on rock, and a tank with driftwood in it suits them better than one without.
They're a deep purple-blue with bright yellow fins, and the contrast is at its best in a group moving together. They shoal far more readily than most mbuna, which are solitary and territorial by nature.
They're also among the more even-tempered Malawi cichlids. Still assertive, still not a community fish, but a long way from a demasoni.
Tank setup
Give your acei hard, alkaline, mineral-rich water. They're Malawi fish and this is not negotiable — soft acidic water suits them badly over time.
Put driftwood in the tank. It's their natural grazing surface and it gives them something to work over, which no other mbuna sheet in this catalogue will tell you.
Build rockwork as well, resting on the base glass rather than the sand so their digging can't undermine it.
Give them length. They're more active and more open-water than most mbuna and they cover ground in a loose group.
Keep them in a decent group and with other Malawi cichlids. Overstocking spreads aggression, as in any mbuna tank.
Feeding
Acei are herbivores grazing algae and the biofilm on wood.
Feed a vegetable-based pellet or spirulina flake as the staple. They'll also rasp at driftwood, and that's normal rather than a sign of hunger.
Keep protein occasional. A vegetable-led diet is what suits a grazer, and it is the part of bloat prevention that is actually within your control.
Avoid: bloodworm and similar rich foods as the everyday staple. They are a poor match for a gut built to process algae, whatever else is going on.
Filtration and flow
Filter heavily. A stocked Malawi tank produces a lot of waste and these are active fish.
Oxygenate well. The open lake water they come from is clear and well mixed.
Change water generously. Good water will not make a sick fish well on its own, but a tank left to drift is a burden the fish carries on top of everything else.
With plants
Acei will graze and dig up most plants, as any mbuna will.
Anubias and java fern lashed to rock or wood are the practical options. They'll be grazed but usually survive.
Driftwood matters more than plants here. It serves the same visual purpose and it's something the fish actually use.
Health
They're hardy in correct water and among the more robust mbuna.
Bloat is the risk, as across the group: a fish off its food, listless, with white stringy waste and a swollen abdomen. Treat that as a sign to investigate rather than a diagnosis you already have — gut infections do occur in cichlids, and the underlying cause is not something you can read off the symptoms.
Watch for a fish excluded from the group and hiding. Acei are more social than most mbuna and isolation is a real signal here.
Breeding
They're mouthbrooders and they'll spawn readily in a settled tank.
The female lays eggs, takes them into her mouth immediately, and collects milt from the male so fertilisation happens there. She then carries the brood for about three weeks without feeding at all.
You'll spot her by the swollen throat and the refusal of food. Strip her or move her to a separate tank if you want the fry; released young are large, robust and take crushed flake and baby brine shrimp from the start.
Tank mates
Avoid82
- Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid Yellow Tail Acei is not safe with Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid: african cichlids and sth american cichlids - dwarf are a bad pairing.
- Amano Shrimp Yellow Tail Acei is not safe with Amano Shrimp: african cichlids and shrimp and yabbies are a bad pairing.
- Angelfish Yellow Tail Acei is not safe with Angelfish: african cichlids and angelfish are a bad pairing.
- Assassin Snail Yellow Tail Acei is not safe with Assassin Snail: african cichlids and snails are a bad pairing.
- Bala Shark Yellow Tail Acei is not safe with Bala Shark: african cichlids and sharks are a bad pairing.
Only with care22
- Kribensis Yellow Tail Acei is semi-aggressive and Kribensis is peaceful.
- Least Killifish Yellow Tail Acei is semi-aggressive and Least Killifish is peaceful.
- Panda Garra Yellow Tail Acei is semi-aggressive and Panda Garra is peaceful.
- Scarlet Badis Yellow Tail Acei is semi-aggressive and Scarlet Badis is peaceful.
- Bristlenose Pleco Yellow Tail Acei is a risk to Bristlenose Pleco: african cichlids and bristlenose catfish are a pairing to watch.
No conflict recorded1
3 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.