Nimbochromis Venustus

Nimbochromis venustus, commonly called venustus hap or giraffe hap. It prefers the deeper regions of the lake (6 to 23 metres). They are intelligent, using a special hunting technique known as thanatosis, where they submerge themselves entirely in the sand after spotting prey and will lie still, waiting for unsuspecting small fish to swim close. The smaller fish will then examine the ‘dead’ fish, which is when the Venustus Cichlid darts out of the sand to seize them. Venustus are generally yellow with a pattern of darker, melanic blotches. Males will have a blue head and other blue colouring when they reach sexual maturity.