Aquarist Atlas
Collection point · Lake Malawi · Tanzania

Thumbi Reef

TOOM-bee REEF (approx.)

The atlas records 5 collection-point forms from Thumbi Reef, across 3 genera.

11.0294°S 34.6106°E

Thumbi Reef, also known as Kitenge Rocks, is a reef off Lake Malawi's Tanzanian shore, under 1 km south-south-west of Thumbi Point.

Where it is

Thumbi Reef is on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi, in its northern third (107 mi south of the lake's northern tip).

Nearest collection points: Thumbi Point 0.1 mi north-east · Ngehe 2.4 mi south-east · Njambe 2.5 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 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: Salima (south-east shore) (~303 km) — Conductivity 235 µS/cm

This site

Habitatrockyreef off Lake Malawi's Tanzanian shore, near Thumbi Point

Surface temperature here

Across May–Nov, monthly means run 76 °F to 82 °F — coolest in Aug. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (920 clear days). The rainy-season months are usually too cloudy to measure and are left blank.

75°78°81°84°Jan: too few clear satellite days (0)–JFeb: too few clear satellite days (2)–FMar: too few clear satellite days (1)–MApr: too few clear satellite days (9)–AMay: 80 °F mean (79 °F–82 °F), 54 clear satellite daysMJun: 79 °F mean (77 °F–80 °F), 108 clear satellite daysJJul: 77 °F mean (76 °F–78 °F), 152 clear satellite daysJAug: 76 °F mean (75 °F–78 °F), 208 clear satellite daysASep: 77 °F mean (76 °F–79 °F), 212 clear satellite daysSOct: 80 °F mean (78 °F–82 °F), 118 clear satellite daysONov: 82 °F mean (79 °F–83 °F), 53 clear satellite daysNDec: too few clear satellite days (3)–D
Surface temperature by month near Thumbi 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: Thumbi Reef Kitenge Rocks

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.

Copadichromis (1)

Maylandia (2)

Pseudotropheus (2)

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