Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis chrysonotus

Copadichromis chrysonotus "Liuli"

Liuli — lee-OO-lee (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 Copadichromis chrysonotus account →

Specific to Liuli

  • 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 Copadichromis chrysonotus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.4 in16.3 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth0–328 ft0–100 m
DietOpen-water zooplankton picker
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder~10-20 eggs (small but large-egged broods; Konings); fecundity rises with female size (Smith 2000)
Sexual dimorphismYesBreeding males turn iridescent blue with a brilliant gold/yellow back and dorsal fin; females, juveniles and non-breeding males are plain brassy with three dark lateral spots.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Liuli population

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

Colour reference: living Liuli fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Copadichromis chrysonotus is a silver-and-gold zooplankton feeder from Lake Malawi, one of the open-water cichlids that Malawians lump together as "utaka." Its claim to fame is reproductive: it is the only inshore Malawi cichlid known to spawn in mid-water, with each courting male holding a moving three-dimensional territory near the surface rather than guarding a patch of rock or sand. That quirk, plus a long history of being confused with its blue cousin Copadichromis azureus, makes it a fish that rewards a closer look.

Full Copadichromis chrysonotus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis chrysonotus "Liuli"
  2. Copadichromis chrysonotus — Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (CAS)
  3. Copadichromis chrysonotus — FishBase summary
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Copadichromis chrysonotus account; midwater spawning, ~10-20 eggs, ID vs C. azureus / C. jacksoni)
  5. Copadichromis chrysonotus — malawi.si (M.K. Oliver / Stuart Grant Malawi cichlid database)
  6. Smith, L.W. 2000. The reproductive biology of an open-water spawning Lake Malawi cichlid, Copadichromis chrysonotus. African Zoology 35(2)