Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown"

Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" "Mbenji Island"

Mbenji Island — m-BEHN-jee EYE-land (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 Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" account →

Specific to Mbenji Island

  • 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 Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4 in10 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth7–49 ft2–15 m
DietEpilithic algae grazer (herbivore; genus-typical for Chindongo, the former "elongatus" complex)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (polygynous; no pair bond)not documented for this form; genus-typical broods for small mbuna run roughly 10-25 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesDistinguished by an overall brown body tone (the form's namesake trait) rather than the blue ground colour typical of most elongatus-complex males; fine detail of any barring or fin colour not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mbenji Island population

Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" "Mbenji Island" is the Mbenji Island population of Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown", 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 Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Mbenji Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" is an undescribed mbuna from the Mbenji Island group and nearby Jalo Reef in south-central Lake Malawi, part of the slender-bodied "elongatus complex" for which the genus Chindongo was established. Its trade name flags a brown body tone that sets it apart from the more typically blue-coded elongatus-complex forms recorded at the same islands. It has never received a formal scientific description.

Full Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" "Mbenji Island"
  2. malawi.si — Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mbenji Brown" locality records (Konings/Bauer database)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Lake Malawi cichlid reference (Ad Konings et al.)