Aquarist Atlas
Collection point · Lake Malawi · Malawi

Mkondiwa Reef

m-kohn-DEE-wah REEF (approx.)

The atlas records 5 collection-point forms from Mkondiwa Reef, across 4 genera.

13.9218°S 34.6428°E

Mkondiwa Reef — also called Kambiri Reef, New Reef, or Nakantenga Reef — is a reef off Lake Malawi's Malawian shore, under 1 km south of Nakantenga Island.

Where it is

Mkondiwa Reef is in open water about 4.3 mi off the western shore, in the southern third of Lake Malawi (308 mi south of the lake's northern tip).

Nearest collection points: Nakantenga Island 0.3 mi north · Maleri Island 1.9 mi north-west · Nankoma Island 3.1 mi north-west

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.

Temperature75.2–84.2 °F24–29 °C
pH8.2–8.6alkaline
Hardnessmoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppm
Conductivity≈250–260 µS/cmmeasured range

Nearest measured station: Monkey Bay (south basin) (~32 km) — Visibility (Secchi) 12.5 m

Surface temperature here

Across Apr–Nov, monthly means run 74 °F to 82 °F — coolest in Jul. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (1435 clear days). The rainy-season months are usually too cloudy to measure and are left blank.

73°77°81°85°Jan: too few clear satellite days (1)–JFeb: too few clear satellite days (5)–FMar: too few clear satellite days (7)–MApr: 80 °F mean (78 °F–82 °F), 46 clear satellite daysAMay: 78 °F mean (77 °F–79 °F), 152 clear satellite daysMJun: 76 °F mean (75 °F–78 °F), 212 clear satellite daysJJul: 74 °F mean (74 °F–75 °F), 228 clear satellite daysJAug: 75 °F mean (74 °F–76 °F), 288 clear satellite daysASep: 76 °F mean (74 °F–78 °F), 284 clear satellite daysSOct: 80 °F mean (78 °F–82 °F), 143 clear satellite daysONov: 82 °F mean (80 °F–83 °F), 64 clear satellite daysNDec: too few clear satellite days (5)–D
Surface temperature by month near Mkondiwa Reef — dot = mean, bar = typical range (10th–90th percentile), “–” = too cloudy to measure.

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.

Sources
  1. malawi.si — Lake Malawi interactive locations map: Mkondiwa Reef

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.

Chindongo (1)

Cynotilapia (1)

Maylandia (2)

Tropheops (1)

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