Auratus Cichlid Identification Guide
Identify the Auratus Cichlid by its striking gold-and-black striped females versus solid dark males.
Read the full Auratus Cichlid encyclopedia entry →
Key identification features
- Slender, elongated body typical of rock-dwelling Lake Malawi mbuna
- Females and juveniles show a bright golden-yellow body with two bold black horizontal stripes running from head to tail
- Adult dominant males dramatically reverse color to a dark brown-to-black body with two pale blue-white stripes
- Males display bright yellow trim along the edges of the dorsal and anal fins
- Stripes extend continuously onto the base of the caudal fin in both sexes
- Small overall size, with males reaching about 10-11 cm and females slightly smaller
Common look-alikes
- Chipokae cichlid: dominant males keep a golden body with black stripes for life instead of turning dark like an adult male auratus.
- Zebra mbuna: patterned with vertical bars rather than the horizontal stripes running the length of an auratus's body.
- Kenyi cichlid: males turn a bright overall blue rather than the black body seen in mature male auratus.
Where you'll see one
Auratus cichlids live along rocky shorelines of Lake Malawi in East Africa, sheltering in crevices and caves among boulders. They are found only in this lake in the wild but are a long-established, widely bred aquarium species due to their hardiness and striking sexual color difference.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell male and female auratus cichlids apart?
Females and young fish are golden-yellow with two black horizontal stripes, while dominant adult males turn dark brown to black with pale blue-white stripes and yellow-edged fins.
How is auratus different from other gold-and-black striped Malawi mbuna?
The key clue is the male's color reversal to a dark body; look-alikes such as the chipokae cichlid keep their golden striped pattern into adulthood instead.