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(This article was originally published in Freshwater and Marine
Aquarium Magazine, Jan 1982; pp. 30-35, 59-63. It is here
reproduced with the permission of author Dr. Paul V. Loiselle).
In 1903, the German aquarist Schoeller reported upon his
experiences with a small cichlid from Egypt. The fish he
described as is today known as Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor, and
his extremely detailed article, which could well serve as a
model for contemporary writers on aquaristic subjects,
represents the first published account of a haplochromine as an
aquarium fish. Schoeller's fish, under the vernacular name of
Egyptian Mouthbrooder, has been available to aquarists ever
since. Indeed, until relatively recently, it was the only
representative of this largest and most diverse of cichlid
lineages available in the hobby. Time has changed this state of
affairs. Nevertheless, it is fitting that, at a time when the
aquarist is literally inundated with larger, more spe