Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlid

Cichlid

Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...

s found in Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...

, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of amateur aquaria. They comprise all the members of the genera Copadichromis

Copadichromis

Copadichromis is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. Many Copadichromis species are popular with aquarists who keep mbuna , as this genus is relatively peaceful in captivity.-Species:...

and Mchenga

Mchenga

Mchenga is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to East Africa.At present, only six species are placed here:* Mchenga conophoros * Mchenga cyclicos...

.

They are the opposite niche from the mbuna

Mbuna

Mbuna is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi. The name mbuna means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga people of Malawi...

, the more common type of Malawi cichlid that dwells among rocks along the lake's fringes and bottom.

Unlike mbuna, which are generally colorful from birth, utaka tend to be very neutral in color -- mostly greys -- until they reach adulthood, because their free-swimming nature leaves them more vulnerable to predation. They are highly sexually dimorphic; the females of the genre tend to remain bland in coloration, while the males often become spectacularly colorful, leading to common names like "peacock cichlid."