Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis sp. "Firecrest"

Copadichromis sp. "Firecrest" "Gome"

Gome — GOH-meh (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. "Firecrest" account →

Specific to Gome

  • 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. "Firecrest".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.5 in12 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)slightly hardup to 179 ppm
Depth66–131 ft20–40 m
DietOpen-water zooplanktivore (utaka)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder; bower-buildingnot documented for this population or the wider complex; likely a few dozen eggs, genus-typical for a utaka of this size
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in exhaustive detail for this population, but the trade name points to a reddish flush in the dorsal fin on breeding males, consistent with the 'Fire-Crest Mloto' form; females are expected to remain plain silvery-grey, per the wider mloto/utaka pattern.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Gome population

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

Colour reference: living Gome fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Copadichromis sp. "Firecrest" is an undescribed utaka documented from Gome, in the southern part of Lake Malawi. Its trade name echoes "Fire-Crest Mloto," a slender, deep-water form within the tangled Copadichromis mloto complex whose breeding males carry a red-flushed band in the dorsal fin. Whether this Gome population is that same form, a related deep-reef relative, or something separate entirely is not established — the mloto/virginalis complex was only genetically resolved in 2023, and several named trade forms within it may turn out to be undescribed species of their own.

Full Copadichromis sp. "Firecrest" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis sp. "Firecrest" "Gome"
  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 mloto (species profile; the related complex)
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)