Cherry Spot 5cm

Tropheus Cherry Spot

Tropheus Cichlids are a staple in the world of African cichlid enthusiasts, with each locality variant offering something unique in terms of colour and behaviour. One particularly rare and visually striking variety is the Tropheus Moorii Cherry Spot, a variant that's developed a dedicated fanbase for its gorgeous markings and classic Tropheus attitude.

The Cherry Spot gets its name from the brilliant cherry-red blotches that contrast beautifully against a darker base body colour, typically ranging from charcoal to chocolate brown. These vivid spots are spread across the body and become more prominent and intense as the fish matures. The fins are often edged in darker hues, with flashes of red or orange near the base, giving them a fiery, dynamic appearance under aquarium lighting. Though their colours might not be as pastel or soft as the Cherry Spot, the Cherry Spot Tropheus offers a more punchy and bold palette, making them truly stand out in any African cichlid display. Like all Tropheus, the Cherry Spot reaches a maximum size of around 13-15 cm and thrives in a colony-style setup. They're highly interactive, territorial, and display complex social behaviours, making them fascinating to observe.

Breeding these fish is possible in the aquarium, where females will mouth-brood the eggs and spit out small fry. Due to their temperament, the ratio of males and females is quite important in the aquarium; it is usually best to keep a single male to at least 3+ females. This ensures that the aggression is diffused against the other fish. It is common practice to purchase a group of 10-12 fish and remove excess males until the suitable ratio is reached.

Tank Recommendations for your Tropheus Cherry Spot

The Cherry Spot Tropheus is an active fish that routinely spends its time maintaining its territory and interacting with the colony. It also needs to be kept in a group where the ratio of males and females matters significantly. Because of these reasons, the recommended aquarium size is at least 500 litres, at around 4 feet minimum width.

A sand substrate is best, as they do routinely sift through the sand to find food. Because these can be a little bit more aggressive when compared to other African cichlids so it is really recommended to have lots of caves, hiding places, and visual breaks so fish can set up their territories. These tropheus will look especially amazing in a darker aquarium setting, which will not only deepen their colours but really highlight the yellows on the fish.

Suitable Tank Buddies

Tropheus in general are recommended to be kept in a species-only tank and maintained a 'harem'. This means that there is one male Tropheus with multiple females, as the minimum tank size for these fish is 120cm x 60cm x 60cm. It's recommended to keep one to two males with six to seven females, as this ensures that aggression is evenly diffused. However, they can be kept in a mixed African cichlids tank with larger growing Africans.

Usually Compatible

Other tropheus Cherry Spot and larger growing African cichlids such as frontosa, fuscodichromis, and other haplochromide species.

Sometimes Compatible

Large adult peacock cichlids

Rarely Compatible

South American cichlids such as Oscars and Jaguar Cichlids, smaller African cichlids such as Mbunas, and tetra species.

Feeding your Tropheus Cherry Spot

Tropheus Cherry Spot is are very easy fish to feed, they easily take to pellets, flakes, and a vast range of prepared aquarium foods. However, their diet should contain good-quality African cichlid pellets with high contents of spirulina or greens. Algae can also be promoted to grow in the aquarium as a natural food source for the fish, as tropheus will readily graze on this. Primary feeding should occur once a day.