Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis sp. "Cf. Nkatae"

Copadichromis sp. "Cf. Nkatae" "Taiwanee Reef"

Taiwanee Reef — ty-WAHN-ee REEF (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 sp. "Cf. Nkatae" account →

Specific to Taiwanee Reef

  • 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 sp. "Cf. Nkatae".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.5 in14.5 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietOpen-water zooplanktivore (utaka), likely with some phytoplankton by comparison to nominal Copadichromis nkatae
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot counted for this population; genus-typical for a mid-sized utaka, roughly 40–70 eggs by comparison with related species
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented for this specific population. By comparison, dominant males of nominal Copadichromis nkatae assume a metallic-blue breeding livery while females, juveniles and subordinate males remain plain silvery-beige. Whether the Taiwanee Reef fish matches this pattern closely enough to confirm the comparison is unresolved — hence the 'cf.' qualifier.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Taiwanee Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Taiwanee Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Copadichromis sp. "Cf. Nkatae" is a population of open-water utaka documented from Taiwanee Reef, in Lake Malawi, tentatively compared to Copadichromis nkatae, a species described from Nkhata Bay well to the north. The "cf." — Latin confer, "compare with" — signals that identification is provisional: this may be the same species found outside its documented range, or a similar-looking relative not yet sorted out. The comparison matters beyond bookkeeping. Copadichromis nkatae itself is assessed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered, possibly extinct, so establishing what the Taiwanee Reef fish actually is would carry real conservation weight — weight this account cannot resolve.

Full Copadichromis sp. "Cf. Nkatae" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis sp. "Cf. Nkatae" "Taiwanee Reef"
  2. malawi.si — Copadichromis species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Copadichromis genus overview (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Copadichromis nkatae (species profile; the compared taxon)
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)