Snow White Sunburst Hap Care Guide - Aquarium Setup, Diet & Breeding

Snow White Sunburst Haps are a selectively bred colour form of the Malawi Cichlid commonly known as the Electric Blue Hap. They have the elongated, streamlined profile typical of Sciaenochromis fryeri, with a pale or snow-white body and warm yellow to orange colouration concentrated around the dorsal, anal and tail fins. Individual fish can vary considerably because the name is used for a trade strain rather than a formally recognised species.

The Snow White Sunburst Hap is a selectively bred ornamental form associated with Sciaenochromis fryeri, a species native to Lake Malawi in East Africa. The trade name describes its pale white and yellow-orange colour pattern rather than a separate naturally occurring species.

A minimum aquarium of about 250 litres is recommended, with a footprint of at least 120 cm by 45 cm for an adult group; a larger aquarium is preferable for a male with several females or a community of Malawi cichlids. Use a sand or fine-gravel substrate and arrange limestone or other inert rock into caves, territories and visual barriers, while leaving open swimming space. Strong filtration, good oxygenation and stable, alkaline water are important for this active fish.

Males can reach about 20 cm (8 in) in length, while females are usually smaller at approximately 15–17 cm (6–6.7 in).

Offer a varied, high-quality carnivorous cichlid diet based on sinking pellets or granules, supplemented with frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, krill and brine shrimp. Small portions of spirulina-based food can provide useful variety, but very fatty foods and excessive mammalian meat should be avoided. Feed modest amounts once or twice daily and remove uneaten food promptly.

Suitable companions include similarly sized, robust Malawi haps and peacock cichlids with comparable water requirements and temperament. They should not be housed with tiny, timid fish, slow-moving community species or highly aggressive mbuna. Avoid keeping multiple males in a modest aquarium, and do not mix them with closely related Sciaenochromis fryeri strains if preserving a particular colour line or preventing hybridisation is important.

Snow White Sunburst Haps are maternal mouthbrooders. For breeding, keep one mature male with several females and provide rockwork or other visual barriers so females can retreat from persistent attention. After spawning, the female carries the eggs and fry in her mouth for around three weeks, usually accepting little or no food during this period. The fry can be raised on finely crushed flakes, powdered cichlid food and newly hatched brine shrimp once released.

Males are larger and generally show stronger yellow-orange fin markings and more pronounced colouration, although the pale selectively bred pattern can make differences variable. Females are typically smaller and less vividly marked, with a more uniformly silvery-white or greyish appearance.