Remarks:   The purple mbuna is a close relative to the similar looking Malawi golden cichlid. What sets them apart is the lack of any yellow pigmentation in the males, excluding the egg spots, which have a dark blue body with two light blue or white horizontal stripes, one running along the lateral line and the other across the top of the fish from the head to the tail. Their ventral and dorsal fins are also a metallic white to light blue color making for a stunning fish. Females and juveniles display the same coloration, but much duller or having pale yellow to tan bodies with black horizontal stripes instead of the blue/white ones the males possess. 

  This particular line of purple cichlids are from the Mumbo Island location but it can be found in a handful of other locations in Lake Malawi. Like most members of the Melanochromis genus, the purple cichlid is extremely active and territorial. They are a larger species of mbuna with some specimens reported to reach 6" in length, though most stop at the 3-4" mark. Purple cichlids are capable of hybridizing with others of the same genus so females of other species belonging to the Melanochromis genus should not be kept with male purple cichlids and vice versa to avoid hybridization.