An adult male Haplochromis species #44 "thickskin" below:

Two young adult females below

A cichlid from Lake Victoria usually incorrectly called Haplochromis obliquidens. (The great obliquidens debate: http://www.africancichlids.net/Articles/Haplochromis_obliquidens/index.htm ) I have seen this cichlid also called Haplochromis species "44", Haplochromis sp. "red tail", and Haplochromis sp. "thickskin". Some hobbiests feel that this cichlid that is called by many names may actually be several different species. The only thing that everyone seems to agree with is that this is a very aggressive victorian cichlid.

The females are not very colorful when compared to the males, although they are not quite as drab many of the other victorians. The male grows to about 4 1/2 inches (11 cm) long and the female about 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) long. This victorian is an omnivore. Although it is fairly common in the hobby, it is thought that it may be extinct in the wild.

I kept this victorian years ago and just recently bought one male and two female juveniles. This cichlid is often confused with the Labrochromis ishmaeli or the Haplochromis brownae. I believe that the true ishmaeli and brownae actually looks quite a bit different than the Hap #44.

Above are two juveniles growing out in my 180 gallon tank. They won't stay there because I don't want them to hybridize with the Astotilapia latifasciata. I'm not convinced that this juvenile will ever look a lot like the one I had previously (pictured at the top of this page.)

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