Chia
CHEE-ah (approx.)
The atlas records 3 collection-point forms from Chia, across 3 genera.
13.0717°S 34.3283°E
Chia is a collection point on Lake Malawi's Malawian shore, about 5 km south-south-west of Sani.
Where it is
Chia is on the western shore of Lake Malawi, in its southern third (249 mi south of the lake's northern tip).
Nearest collection points: Sani 3.3 mi north · Nkhotakota 11 mi north · Jalo Reef 14 mi north
Shore, third and distances are measured from the coordinates above against the lake’s mapped outline.
The water
Lake-wide measured chemistry of Lake Malawi — collection points share their lake's water; site-specific figures are shown only where the literature records them.
Nearest measured station: Salima (south-east shore) (~76 km) — Conductivity 235 µS/cm
Surface temperature here
Across Apr–Nov, monthly means run 74 °F to 81 °F — coolest in Jul. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (1238 clear days). The rainy-season months are usually too cloudy to measure and are left blank.
Temperature: ESA Climate Change Initiative, Lakes_cci v3.0 (Asfour et al. 2026; doi:10.5285/a56dba09df8a42ec9fba8b8c7a5e1f69). Chemistry on this page remains the lake's own.
The site
Site photographs show Chia Lagoon connected to the lake by a short stretch of shallow water.
Each entry below is the population of that species recorded here — the form aquarists keep and breed as a distinct, provenance-labelled line. Crossing forms from different collection points is considered hybridisation in the hobby.