Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Astatotilapia stappersii

Astatotilapia stappersii "Magambo"

Magambo — mah-GAHM-boh (approx.)

The fish

How this cichlid is built, and everything about how it lives, eats and breeds, is shared with the species — this page doesn't repeat it.

Read the full Astatotilapia stappersii account →

Specific to Magambo

  • Collection locality & coordinates
  • Local coloration — best judged from the living-fish photo
  • Kept as a single-provenance line, never crossed with other collection points

Care facts below are the species' — shared with Astatotilapia stappersii.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.9 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–86 °F24–30 °C
pH7–8alkaline
Depth0–7 ft0–2 m
DietInsectivore (mainly insect larvae)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderNot documented for this species; haplochromine-typical for a ~15 cm Astatotilapia is a small brood on the order of ~20-50 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in detail for this species; by the genus pattern (A. burtoni) dominant males are brightly coloured (yellow/blue, eye-bar, anal-fin egg-spots) while females and subordinate males stay drab silvery-brown.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Magambo population

Astatotilapia stappersii "Magambo" is the Magambo population of Astatotilapia stappersii, a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Tanganyika in the central part of the lake. It is the same species as Astatotilapia stappersii, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Magambo fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Astatotilapia stappersii is a small haplochromine cichlid of the Lake Tanganyika basin that, unlike the rock-dwelling jewels the lake is famous for, lives a life on the lake's margins — in the slow streams, swamps and river mouths that feed it. Rarely more than six inches long and feeding largely on insect larvae, it is a maternal mouthbrooder that has remained almost invisible to the aquarium trade despite its tidy looks. Its story is less about spectacle than about the overlooked riverine fishes that ring one of the world's great lakes.

Full Astatotilapia stappersii account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Astatotilapia stappersii "Magambo"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Astatotilapia stappersii (Poll, 1943) — original combination, type locality (Lufuku River at Pala), holotype MRAC 14325, Poll & Gosse 1995 transfer
  3. FishBase: Astatotilapia stappersii (Poll, 1943) — max 15.0 cm TL, mouthbrooding, trophic level, distribution, etymology
  4. FishBase country summary: Astatotilapia stappersii, Lake Tanganyika basin
  5. The ETYFish Project — Cichlidae (Pseudocrenilabrinae): Astatotilapia and stappersii etymologies
  6. FishBase: Astatotilapia burtoni (congener reference for color, behaviour, breeding)