Nimbochromis venustus

Nimbochromis venustus, commonly called venustus hap or giraffe hap, is a Haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi in Africa. It prefers the deeper regions of the lake (6 to 23 metres (20 to 75 ft)) where it hunts smaller juvenile cichlids with a specialised hunting technique. After spotting prey, it will partially submerge itself into the sand and lie motionless until the chosen fish comes within reach. it will then dart out of the sand and strike. It is related to Nimbochromis livingstonii. In the wild it is known to grow to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL though usually not exceeding a length of 22.5 centimetres (8.9 in) TL.^[2]

Nimbochromis venustus
At Frankfurt Zoo, Germany
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cichliformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Genus:	Nimbochromis
Species:	N. venustus
Binomial name
Nimbochromis venustus (Boulenger, 1908)
Synonyms
Haplochromis venustus Boulenger, 1908 Cyrtocara venusta (Boulenger, 1908) Haplochromis simulans Regan, 1922

It is a popular freshwater aquarium fish. The fish are generally yellow with a pattern of darker, melanic blotches. Males will have a blue head and other blue colouring when they reach sexual maturity.

See also

• List of freshwater aquarium fish species