Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Copadichromis verduyni

Copadichromis verduyni "Chidunga Rocks"

Chidunga Rocks — chee-DOON-gah ROKS (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 verduyni account →

Specific to Chidunga Rocks

  • 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 verduyni.

IUCNVULNERABLE · 2006
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.3 in11 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.3–8.3alkaline
Depth30–49 ft9–15 m
DietUtaka zooplanktivore (plankton + some benthic invertebrates)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderNot documented for this species; utaka-typical ~30-60 eggs (mean ~49 in the open-water congener C. chrysonotus, Smith 2000), likely lower given its small size
Sexual dimorphismYesNuptial males have a blue head with a red/yellow/brownish flank, yellow breast and anal-fin margin; females and non-territorial males are plain silvery-grey.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chidunga Rocks population

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

Colour reference: living Chidunga Rocks fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Copadichromis verduyni is a small, deep-living utaka cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, hovering in shoals over the eastern shore where sand meets rock. It belongs to the lake's guild of open-water zooplankton pickers, but it is the most secretive spawner among its kind: territorial males retreat to depths of 9 to 15 m (30 to 49 ft) and tuck their breeding burrows into small caves and crevices, the most cryptic nest sites of any Copadichromis. Named for the Dutch cichlid dealer Dirk Verduyn, the species shows a string of named colour variants around the lake and is currently assessed as Vulnerable.

Full Copadichromis verduyni account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Copadichromis verduyni "Chidunga Rocks"
  2. Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer) — Copadichromis verduyni (species record)
  3. FishBase — Copadichromis verduyni summary
  4. FishBase (MNHN mirror) — Copadichromis verduyni
  5. The ETYFish Project — Cichlidae (Pseudocrenilabrinae a-g): Copadichromis & verduyni etymology
  6. Konings, A. 1990. Description of Copadichromis verduyni (type locality Fort Maguire, Lake Malawi)