Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Buccochromis rhoadesii

Buccochromis rhoadesii "Otter Point"Yellow Lepturus Cichlid

Buccochromis rhoadesii (Otter Point)

Otter Point — OT-ter POYNT (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 Buccochromis rhoadesii account →

Specific to Otter Point

  • 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 Buccochromis rhoadesii.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2019
CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesBuccochromis nototaeniadescribed as Paratilapia nototaenia Boulenger 1902
Scientific size13.5 in34.1 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)moderately soft to slightly hard, alkaline107–179 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth3–98 ft1–30 m
DietRoving piscivore (small fish over sand)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderNot documented for rhoadesii; genus-typical clutch in the low hundreds of eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesDominant males larger and more colourful — yellow flanks washed with metallic blue and a dark lateral stripe; females and non-territorial males plainer. Males build sand-mound bowers; females do not.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Otter Point population

Buccochromis rhoadesii "Otter Point" is the Otter Point population of Buccochromis rhoadesii, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Buccochromis rhoadesii, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Otter Point fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Buccochromis rhoadesii is one of Lake Malawi's larger open-water predators, a sleek haplochromine that cruises the muddy floors of sheltered bays and the sandy margins off the beaches in search of smaller fish. Known to aquarists as the "Yellow Lepturus," it is a maternal mouthbrooder whose breeding males throw up conspicuous sand mounds on which to court. Though widespread and rated Least Concern, it lives in a lake under mounting fisheries and climate pressure, and it is caught both for food and, occasionally, for the ornamental trade.

Full Buccochromis rhoadesii account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Buccochromis rhoadesii "Otter Point"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Buccochromis rhoadesii (CAS)
  3. FishBase — Buccochromis rhoadesii summary
  4. Ad Konings — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Buccochromis rhoadesii account; courtship photo by A. Spreinat)
  5. malawi.si — Buccochromis rhoadesii species page (distribution, habitat, depth)
  6. Chavula et al. 2023 — Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa basin: Status, challenges, and research needs, J. Great Lakes Research 49(6):102241
  7. IUCN Red List — Buccochromis rhoadesii "Otter Point"
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