Kipili
kee-PEE-lee (approx.)
Also traded as “Kipilli”
The atlas records 36 collection-point forms from Kipili, across 24 genera.
7.4300°S 30.6100°E
Kipili is a collection point on Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika shore, near Lake Shore Lodge and the Luafwe (Luamvi) River.
Where it is
Kipili is on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, in its southern third (283 mi south of the lake's northern tip).
Nearest collection points: Mlowa Point 1.7 mi south-west · Kirando 2.2 mi north · Sela 2.2 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 Tanganyika — collection points share their lake's water; site-specific figures are shown only where the literature records them.
Nearest measured station: Mpulungu (south basin) (~158 km) — Temperature 24.5 °C · pH 8.9 · Conductivity 662 µS/cm · Visibility (Secchi) 11.9 m
Surface temperature here
Across Apr–Nov, monthly means run 77 °F to 81 °F — coolest in Jul. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (1190 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
Kipili lends its name to a locally distinct Tropheus color form, Tropheus sp. kipili, among the cichlids recorded here.
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.