Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Buccochromis spectabilis

Buccochromis spectabilis "Mdowa"

Mdowa — m-DOH-wah (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 spectabilis account →

Specific to Mdowa

  • 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 spectabilis.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size10.1 in25.6 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth0–59 ft0–18 m
DietActive piscivore; hunts smaller cichlids over open sand
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder; spawns over sand~30–70 eggs (genus-typical estimate for a 20–25 cm female; no published count for this species specifically — FLAGGED as inferred)
Sexual dimorphismYesBreeding males are larger and turn vivid cobalt-blue with egg-spots on the anal fin; females and non-breeding males are silver-grey with a faint lateral stripe.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mdowa population

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

Colour reference: living Mdowa fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Buccochromis spectabilis is a large, elongate predatory cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi — one of only five species in a genus built for ambushing smaller fish over open sand. Its lean, torpedo-shaped body and the deep cobalt-blue of a breeding male have made it a centrepiece fish for serious haplochromine keepers, even if its size and piscivorous appetite mean few tanks can actually house it well. What makes it genuinely interesting biologically is how it fits into Lake Malawi's layered predator guild: a roving, sight-dependent hunter of the shallow sandy apron that surrounds the rocky mbuna reefs.

Full Buccochromis spectabilis account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Buccochromis spectabilis "Mdowa"
  2. FishBase — Buccochromis spectabilis (Trewavas, 1935)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Buccochromis spectabilis (species record, spid=37966)
  4. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Buccochromis spectabilis (Trewavas, 1935), taxon key 2371599
  5. The ETYFish Project — Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (a-g); Buccochromis genus and spectabilis species etymology
  6. Trewavas, E. 1935. A Synopsis of the Cichlid Fishes of Lake Nyasa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series 10, 16: 65–118 (original description as Haplochromis spectabilis, p. 86, 100; via Cichlid Room Companion reference crc00118)