Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis sp. "Likomae Masinje"

Copadichromis sp. "Likomae Masinje" "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. "Likomae Masinje" 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. "Likomae Masinje".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–79 °F24–26 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth16–82 ft5–25 m
DietOpen-water zooplanktivore (utaka)
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this population; utaka-typical, likely a few dozen eggs per brood
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in detail for this specific form. By comparison, males of the nominal Copadichromis likomae develop a darker overall colour with contrasting lighter head and fins, while females stay plain silvery grey with two dark flank spots.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Gome population

Copadichromis sp. "Likomae Masinje" "Gome" is the Gome population of Copadichromis sp. "Likomae Masinje", 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. "Likomae Masinje", 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. "Likomae Masinje" is an undescribed utaka documented from Gome, in the southern part of Lake Malawi, and compared in the field literature to Copadichromis likomae — a species described from Likoma Island, far to the north. It is one of several "likomae-type" forms that malawi.si documents around the lake without confirming their identity to the nominal species. The population is reported running a little larger than typical Copadichromis likomae, which is the most concrete point of difference recorded for it so far.

Full Copadichromis sp. "Likomae Masinje" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis sp. "Likomae Masinje" "Gome"
  2. malawi.si — Copadichromis species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  3. malawi.si — Copadichromis sp. 'likomae masinje' Gome (geographic colour form; photo © Ad Konings)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Copadichromis genus overview (Ad Konings, curator)
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)