Madagascar might not be our first ‘go to’ when we think of cichlids, but there’s at least one species there that’ll put stars in your eyes.
IN MY YOUNGER years, I was forever a keen enthusiast of browsing every fish store I could, gazing upon the magnificent specimens I found. The fishkeeping hobby had really bitten me hard at an early age. Unfortunately for us South African aquarists, we never had many true aquarium stores dedicated to the hobby through the 90s and early 2000s. Instead, our general pet stores and hardware stores were usually the places where we could stumble upon a few aquaria. Fortunately, this has changed over the last couple of decades.
It was within one of these stores in the late 90’s that one fish really caught my eye. Jet black, and with iridescent spots scattered across its flanks and fins, my jaw dropped at the sheer beauty of it. Upon enquiring, the shop assistant informed me that it went by the name of starry night cichlid, a name that could not have been more suited. There and then I promised myself that I would one day not only keep this gem, but reproduce it too.
Over the following years I never once came across any within a dealer’s tanks and had lost all hope of sourcing one. It wasn’t until 20 years later in 2019 that finally I came across a post on a local Facebook page from a hobbyist who had bought a group and was selling a few off. In an instant, I was on the phone and headed off and purchased two individuals that appeared to have separated themselves from the rest of the group. I’d fulfilled half of my promise.
Trouble at home
Starry night cichlids also go by the names of black diamond cichlid or polleni—the latter being the most common on livestock lists, and the specific epithet of the scientific name: Paratiliapia polleni.
Polleni are endemic to the island of Madagascar. They were once widespread throughout the country, but unfortunately are far less common now due to activities that have had a drastic impact on their natural environment. Activities such as overfishing, habitat degradation, introduction of non-indigenous species, farming, and so forth, have virtually destroyed many of the habitats where not only this species is found, but a multitude of others.
Whilst they’re listed by the IUCN Red List of Species as ‘Vulnerable’, the work carried out by some intrepid aquarists meant that this species could be kept alive in captivity, with it now widely available in the hobby.
Unfortunately, research on the cichlids of Madagascar pales in comparison to those
