Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje"

Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje" "Chiofu"

Chiofu — chee-OH-foo (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. "Trematocranus Masinje" account →

Specific to Chiofu

  • 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. "Trematocranus Masinje".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.7 in12 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth66–115 ft20–35 m
DietSand-sifting micro-invertivore via ampullary lateral-line pores
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismYesPresent in the general peacock manner, but poorly documented; a dark fish with one of the least vivid colour patterns among cave-dwelling Aulonocara, and a notably large mouth. Females rarely seen, hidden in caves.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chiofu population

Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje" "Chiofu" is the Chiofu population of Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje", 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. "Trematocranus Masinje", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Chiofu fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje" is an undescribed, cave-dwelling 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 one of the lake's strangest and least-seen peacocks: a dark, big-mouthed fish that lives only at great depth, hiding in small caves within terraced rocky structures more than twenty metres down and most often around thirty-five. Its placeholder name records an old confusion with the unrelated genus Trematocranus, but its enlarged head pores place it squarely among the Aulonocara peacocks. Very rare, very deep, and among the least vivid of the cave peacocks, it should be treated strictly as a documented field form rather than a described species.

Full Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Aulonocara sp. "Trematocranus Masinje" "Chiofu"
  2. malawi.si — Aulonocara sp. 'trematocranus masinje' Chiofu Bay (Konings-based species database; depth, range, biotope, large mouth, breeding)
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Aulonocara sp. 'trematocranus masinje' (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Aulonocara genus and undescribed cave-dwelling forms (Ad Konings, curator)
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi authority, recognises this form)
  6. MalawiCichlids.com — Aulonocara genus overview (M.K. Oliver; sand- and cave-dwelling peacock biology)