Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis sp. "Chizumuluensis Londo"

Copadichromis sp. "Chizumuluensis Londo" "Londo Bay"

Londo Bay — LOHN-doh BAY (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. "Chizumuluensis Londo" account →

Specific to Londo Bay

  • 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. "Chizumuluensis Londo".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth39–66 ft12–20 m
DietUtaka zooplanktivore, likely also taking benthic invertebrates by comparison to nominal Copadichromis chizumuluensis
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder; bower-buildingnot documented for this population; small, likely a few dozen eggs, by comparison with the nominal species
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in detail for this specific population. By comparison, males of the nominal Copadichromis chizumuluensis are dark with a blue breast, a narrow yellow marginal band, and pale spots in the anal fin, while females stay silvery grey. Whether the Londo Bay fish shares this exact pattern is unconfirmed.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Londo Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Londo Bay fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Copadichromis sp. "Chizumuluensis Londo" is an undescribed utaka documented from Londo Bay, on the Mozambique shore of Lake Malawi, close to Chizumulu Island. Its trade name links it to Copadichromis chizumuluensis, a species described in 2006 from that island — itself a fish that circulated in the hobby for years under the informal tag "Copadichromis sp. chizumulu blue" before it was formally named. Whether this Londo Bay population is that same species, found a short distance from its type locality, or a distinct but similar-looking relative, is not established.

Full Copadichromis sp. "Chizumuluensis Londo" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis sp. "Chizumuluensis Londo" "Londo Bay"
  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 chizumuluensis (species profile; the compared taxon)
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)