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Xystichromis phytophagus was first identified in Lake Victoria in the mid 1960s. They are a dimorphic species, with the males having an outstanding color palette that includes black, grey-blue, purple, green, red, gold, and orange. Females are a much plainer, green-tinted gold with faint black striping along the lateral line and over the eye, and a silvery-white ventral coloration.
The fish is a smallish, relatively timid Victorian Hap, although they can show a great deal of conspecific aggression to competing males, especially during breeding periods. Though they are no longer found in Lake Victoria, there are still wild populations in satellite lakes around Victoria, with the largest being found in Lake Kanyaboli in Kenya. Despite the phytophagus taxonomy (it means 'feeds on plants'), the fish is actually a true omnivore, with the bulk of it's nutrition coming from microorganisms, algae, insect larvae, and plankton. A large male Christmas Fulu will top out at 4.5", though just over 4 is much more common. Females will stay quite a bit smaller, usually reaching 3-3.5" at most. Females will also begin breeding at 1.5" in size. They prefer alkaline, hard water but are a little more tolerant of lower-end (for African Rift Lake) pHs. Though they are sexually dimorphic, venting may be required to distinguish between a colored-down sub-dominant male and a dominant female.
Basic Keeping of Xystichromis phytophagus:
- Recommended Minimum Tank Size: 40 gallon Breeder (36" x 18" or 92cm x 46cm footprint)
- Recommended pH: 7.4 – 8.4
- Recommended Hardness and Alkalinity: dGH: 8-13, dKH: 6-10
- Recommended Temperature: 76-90° F (24.4-33.3° C)
- Recommended Peak Nitrates: ≤ 15 ppm
- Recommended Filtration GPH: ≥ 6–10 times total tank volume per hour
- Bioload: Moderate
- They are timid and tough to stock with other cichlids.
- They are happiest with a lot of rock or wood hiding places.
For decor and substrate, like most Africans, sand is the go-to choice, although they tolerate smaller gravel relatively well. Male X. phytophagus are nest builders, so they need sand or gravel that isn't very sharp or too large. Christmas Fulus likes to do a lot of rock and wood work to help define territory and give females hiding places. They tolerate plants relatively well, as long as they are not easily dug up. It is very common for people to construct caves from slate that are too large and regular to be of much use. They like tighter, more natural hiding places, which can usually only fit one fish comfortably. These are much easier to get by stacking rocks in dense formations and letting crevices and caves form naturally.
Behavior:
X. phytophagus is relatively low-aggression for rift lake cichlids; some would even call them timid at times. They can show some really serious conspecific aggression during mating. Because of this strange blend of timidity and aggression, they don't always do well when stocked with other cichlids. If you're keeping them in a 40-breeder, you'd ideally have one male fish and 4-5 female fish. To that, you could add a nice-sized school of African tetras that did well in hard water (there are tons of Sadler's Robbers in Victoria, but they are almost impossible to find for sale in the US at least). This group of active dither fish may help the Fulus feel more comfortable and be a little less timid. You could also consider adding a dwarf Synodontis catfish or one of the more social ones. S. afrofisheri is native to Tanganyika and does well on its own. Otherwise, a small group of the smaller dwarf Tanganyikan synodontoids like S. lucipinnis or S. petricola are a decent choice.
If you are determined to mix it with some Malawi fish, you're best off treating it like a mildly aggressive hap or peacock. It will not do well in a tank with big predators or very assertive peacock species. I personally wouldn't mix them with mbuna, but you might be able to get away with mixing them with something like a P. elegans "Acei" who is docile and prefers mid- to upper tank levels. They can work on some other Victoria haps as well, but to get the best coloring and behavior, you need something totally unspecific and less aggressive. Given a large enough tank (75 gallon+), you can actually keep 2 males and 8–10 females, but in anything smaller, you don't want to keep more than one male fish. Hiding can be a big issue with Fulus, and they don't take the mbuna solution of overstocking to the eyeballs as well as other mbuna. So, if you're having issues, a dither group of low-aggression tetras who like hard water, like Black Skirt or Lemon Tetras, can help.
Water quality is very important, as these fish are even more sensitive to nitrates than their Malawi cousins. I would recommend keeping peak nitrates below 15ppm if you can in order to get the best coloration and behavior.
Diet:
X. phytophagus are ominvores but were originally seen in the wild rummaging and eating decaying leaves. Therefore, they were initially presumed to be herbivores, which was a bit of a departure from other fish in their genus, and they were tagged with the species name, which means 'plant eater'. However, on further study, most of these plant bits pass through the fish undigested, leading biologists to believe that the fish is eating microorganisms and algae that grow and live in and around the leaves. At this point, they are considered omnivores. In captivity, a good-quality, small, sinking staple pellet is always preferable; however, if you're keeping tetras or catfish, you may need to supplement with some high-quality flake as well. Remember, pellets and flakes are highly concentrated nutrition compared to their normal diet, so it's better to feed them in small amounts a few times a day and only what can be consumed in 20–30 seconds.