Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo"

Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo" "Nkhomo Reef"

Nkhomo Reef — n-KOH-moh REEF (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 Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo" account →

Specific to Nkhomo Reef

  • 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 Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.3 in11 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth59–98 ft18–30 m
DietSand-sifting micro-invertivore via ampullary lateral-line pores
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; modest by analogy with similar peacocks (a few dozen eggs)
Sexual dimorphismYesBreeding males notably bluer than the Masinje form and lacking the black dorsal margin of the North form; females drab, slightly larger and more elongate than Masinje females.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhomo Reef population

Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo" "Nkhomo Reef" is the Nkhomo Reef population of Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo", a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the south-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Nkhomo Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo" is an undescribed peacock cichlid from Lake Malawi — recognised in the field by Ad Konings but never formally named, with no describing author, no year, and no scientific catalogue entry. It is the Nkhomo Reef member of the lake's "Chitande Type" peacocks, a cluster of look-alike sand-dwellers whose drab females are nearly impossible to separate and whose males give each population its identity. The Nkhomo fish wears a notably bluer breeding dress than its relatives and lives, like its famous reef-mate Aulonocara baenschi, in the deeper water of the Nkhomo-Benga Reef, where the rocks lie around twenty-two metres down. Despite a very restricted range it is reported to be abundant on its home reef. It should be treated strictly as a documented hobby and field form rather than a described species.

Full Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type Nkhomo" "Nkhomo Reef"
  2. malawi.si — Aulonocara sp. 'chitande type nkhomo' Nkhomo Reef (Konings-based species database; restricted range, depth, dimorphism, breeding)
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Aulonocara sp. 'chitande type masinje' and the Chitande Type complex (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi authority, recognises the Chitande Type forms)
  5. MalawiCichlids.com — Aulonocara genus overview (M.K. Oliver; sand-dwelling peacock biology)