This is Blue, my large Cyphotilapia gibberosa Mpimbwe male. He is between ten and twelve inches long - probably closer to twelve - and meaty. I have had him since he was a wee little fellow. I originally purchased a small group of fry around 1.5" long at a Greater Chicago Cichlid Association auction. I can't remember exactly when that was, but I am guessing sometime in 2009 or 2010. The largest tank I currently own is a 75 gallon aquarium. You can imagine how a group of large gibberosa would not do well in a tank that size. At some point the fish began to grow too large and I sold off the other members of the group I had and kept only Blue. He was the largest of the bunch at the time.
 I have enjoyed having a front around, even if it was only the one. Fronts (a term I collectively use to mean frontosa and gibberosa) are beautiful, majestic fish. They are typically very mellow. Blue is a bit skittish, but has at times taken food directly from my hand. I have used him as a cull machine for all of my malformed fry over the years, a role I think he rather relished.
 But the time has come for me to move on from Blue. He occupies a 75 gallon aquarium all by his lonesome. I could really use that space more productively. And, to be frank, he deserves more space to swim around. I will miss him, but that is the nature of life. Sometimes circumstances dictate that we be separated from those we love. That does not mean we love them any less. I say that with sincerity.

  Bloat is speculated to be caused by too much protein in a fish's diet. It is also suggested that stress and poor living conditions can lead to this condition that causes a fish to swell up in the abdomen. I recently had a beloved Cyphotilapia gibberosa "Mpimbwe" male named Big Dog contract this condition. It immediately followed a large water change (maybe 80%) I performed on the 90 gallon in which this fish lives. The day after the water change I noticed the male was discolored and uninterested in feeding. That alone is enough to cause concern, but in the following days his abdomen began to swell up, as did the nuchal hump on his head. Essentially, the fish was constipated. I did a little research and found some good advice on a few forums.
  I treated the tank with Epsom salt while keeping feedings to a minimum. When I did feed the fish, I de-shelled frozen peas and fed them exclusively until the fish began to return to normal. The recovery took nearly two full weeks, but Big Dog came around. I am grateful to God that he did. He's one of my favorites.
  In retrospect I believe this bout of bloat may have been caused by my feeding of crushed snails. I like to smash up ramshorn snails once in awhile and give the fish a treat. They love them. Unfortunately the chunks of crushed snail shell make perfect obstructions to the intestinal tracts of the fish. I begin to believe that several fish I have lost in the past few years (including a beautiful male Copadichromis melas "Midnight Mloto" and a very large and interesting looking female OB peacock) may have died from this condition as a result of my feeding snails. No more escargot for Big Dog and the boys.