Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mphanga" "Mphanga Rocks"

Mphanga Rocksm-PAHN-gah ROKS (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 Mphanga" account →

Specific to Mphanga Rocks

  • 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 Mphanga".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.5 in9 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth7–49 ft2–15 m
DietAlgae grazer (aufwuchs film cropped from rock)
BreedingMaternal mouthbroodernot documented; expected modest given small adult size, typical of elongatus-group Chindongo
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical elongatus-group pattern expected: slender body, multiple narrow vertical bars on males; not formally described for this population
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mphanga Rocks population

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

Colour reference: living Mphanga Rocks fish at malawi.si

About the species

Chindongo sp. 'elongatus mphanga' is an undescribed member of the slender-bodied, multiply barred 'elongatus' group of small mbuna, recorded from a cluster of reefs around Chilumba in far northern Lake Malawi, with Mphanga Rocks as its best-known collection point. It has not been formally described.

Full Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mphanga" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Chindongo sp. "Elongatus Mphanga" "Mphanga Rocks"
  2. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 5th ed. (Cichlid Press)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Genus record (authority for valid names; this trade name has no catalog entry)