Mitande Reef (Rocks)
mee-TAHN-deh REEF ROKS (approx.)
The atlas records 19 collection-point forms from Mitande Reef (Rocks), across 14 genera.
14.0254°S 34.8243°E
Mitande Reef (Rocks) is a reef off Lake Malawi's Malawian shore, about 1 km east-south-east of Thumbi West Island.
Where it is
Mitande Reef (Rocks) is on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi, in its southern third (314 mi south of the lake's northern tip).
Nearest collection points: Thumbi West Island 0.8 mi north-west · Otter Point 0.9 mi south · Otter Island 1.1 mi south
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: Monkey Bay (south basin) (~10 km) — Visibility (Secchi) 12.5 m
This site
Surface temperature here
Across Apr–Nov, monthly means run 75 °F to 82 °F — coolest in Jul. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (1449 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 the reef with Thumbi West Island and the mainland behind it in one view, and Chembe Beach behind it in another. It also lies about 2 km north of Otter Point.
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.