• Scientific name: Aulonocara baenschi
• Synonyms: Nkhomo-benga peacock, Baensch's Peacock
• Common name: Yellow Regal Cichlid
• Group: Cichlids
• Habitat: Africa; Lake Malawi near Marleri Islands
• Size: 9-14 cm
• Biotope: Rocky and sandy areas of Lake Malawi.
• Social behavior: Territorial, but peaceful, good fish for a community tank. Males will fight with any fish similar in color and pattern so choose tankmates carefully.
• Diet: Carnivorous; All kind of live and frozen foods. Avoid tubifex worms as they contribute to a disease called "Malawi bloat."
• Breeding: Quite easy
• Tank: Minimum 200 litres
• Population: 6 fish for 250 litres
• Decoration: Use rocks to construct structures and caves. Use sand as substrate. Use tough plants that can tolerate hard water.
• Temperature: 25-29°C
• pH: 7.5-8.8
• Hardness: 10-25 NK°
• Lifespan: 10 years

Description: There are several color morphs of this fish. The most common is the blue-yellow morph (Chipoka) which head is usually indigo blue and 6-8 indigo blue vertical stripes can be found on the rear part of the body. The other parts of the body is yellow. The second color morph is all yellow except for the lower half of the head which is indigo blue (Nkoma/Benga). The morph from the Marleri Islands has a blue head. In nature it will reach 10 cm while in the aquarium it may become considerably bigger. In nature it feeds on invertebrates that dwell in the sand by lying motionless over the sandy bottom, sensing micro-movements in the substrate. When it finds a target, it darts rapidly into the sand and sifts it by shooting the sand out its gills while retaining the acquired treat.

Male is a brighter blue-yellow, female is a single colored black-brown with some darker stripes. The breeding pairs must be well conditioned with live foods such as mosquito larvae or bloodworms. Before spawning the male will choose a spawning site and begin to display around it. This is where the females will lay their eggs and then pick them up in their mouths. The male has egg-shaped spots on his anal fin and the female is attracted to these. When she tries to add them to the brood in her mouth she actually recieves sperm from the male, thus fertilising the eggs. She will carry 25 to 50 of them in her mouth until the fry are old enough to be able to feed on their own. It is usually 4 weeks. During this time the female will not eat. You can start to feed the fry with brine shrimp nauplii.