Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli"

Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli" "Liuli"

Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli" (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 sp. "Mloto Liuli" 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 sp. "Mloto Liuli".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesCopadichromis quadrimaculatusdescribed as Haplochromis quadrimaculatus Regan 1922
Scientific size5.5 in13.5 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 179 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth59–131 ft18–40 m
DietOpen-water zooplanktivore (utaka)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder; bower-buildingnot well documented for the nominal species or this population; expected a few dozen eggs, genus-typical for a utaka of this size
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in exhaustive detail for this specific population. Breeding males across the related Copadichromis mloto complex turn dark blue-black with a metallic-blue head and nape (some related forms with a red dorsal-fin band); females remain plain silvery-grey. Turner et al. (2023) flagged 'Mloto Liuli' by name as possibly representing an undescribed relative rather than C. mloto proper.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Liuli population

Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli" "Liuli" is the Liuli population of Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli", 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 sp. "Mloto Liuli", 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 sp. "Mloto Liuli" is an undescribed utaka documented from Liuli, on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi. This exact trade name is named directly in the scientific literature: a 2023 whole-genome study of Copadichromis mloto and its long-confused relative Copadichromis virginalis listed "Mloto Liuli," alongside "Luwala Reef" and "Mloto Undu," as one of several locality forms circulating in the trade that "may turn out to be undescribed relatives rather than Copadichromis mloto proper." It is treated here as its own undescribed form for that reason.

Full Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Liuli" "Liuli"
  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. Turner et al. 2023 — Taxonomic investigation of the zooplanktivorous Lake Malawi cichlids Copadichromis mloto (Iles) and C. virginalis (Iles), Hydrobiologia
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