Mpulungu
m-poo-LOON-goo (approx.)
The atlas records 10 collection-point forms from Mpulungu, across 9 genera.
8.7600°S 31.1000°E
Mpulungu is Zambia's port at the extreme southern end of Lake Tanganyika — the historic hub of the lake's ornamental-fish trade and the site of the long-term southern monitoring station.
Where it is
Mpulungu is at the southern end of Lake Tanganyika, 375 mi south of the lake's northern tip.
Nearest collection points: Mbita Island 0.4 mi north-west · Kasakalawe 2.2 mi west · Wonzye Point 3.4 mi north-east
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) (~1 km) — Temperature 24.5 °C · pH 8.9 · Conductivity 662 µS/cm · Visibility (Secchi) 11.9 m
This site
Surface temperature here
Across Mar–Nov, monthly means run 76 °F to 82 °F — coolest in Jul. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (1829 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
The shores near the town are gentler than the rocky coasts to the east: sand and intermediate habitat dominate close to the harbour, with rockier ground toward the bay mouths. Mpulungu's real importance to the hobby is logistical — for decades most southern-Tanganyika fish, whatever their exact reef of origin, have passed through its export facilities.
As with Kigoma in the north, a permanently monitored station sits here, so the measured values shown on this page come from the town's own waters.
Sources
- Konings, A. (2019). Tanganyika Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 4th Edition. Cichlid Press, El Paso.
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.