Cyathochromis obliquidens "Chiloelo"

Chiloelochee-loh-EH-loh (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 Cyathochromis obliquidens account →

Specific to Chiloelo

  • 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 Cyathochromis obliquidens.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.1 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth3–20 ft1–6 m
DietGrazes algae from rocks and plants
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderGenus-typical, a few dozen eggs (undocumented precisely)
Sexual dimorphismYesBreeding males larger and more intensely coloured, with conspicuous yellow egg-spots on the anal fin; females smaller and plainer.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chiloelo population

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

Colour reference: living Chiloelo fish at malawi.si

About the species

Cyathochromis obliquidens is a small mbuna cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi and its satellite waters, the only species in its genus. While most of Malawi's rock-dwelling cichlids rasp algae from stone, this one earns its name from slender, obliquely leaning teeth that comb loose algae off the leaves of submerged plants. It is a quiet, subtly marked fish whose place at the very edge of the mbuna radiation has made it a useful puzzle piece for biologists reconstructing how this explosive species flock evolved.

Full Cyathochromis obliquidens account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Cyathochromis obliquidens "Chiloelo"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Cyathochromis obliquidens (Trewavas, 1935)
  3. FishBase — Cyathochromis obliquidens summary (SpecCode 8337)
  4. GBIF — Cyathochromis obliquidens occurrences
  5. Encyclopedia of Life — Cyathochromis obliquidens Trewavas 1935
  6. IRMNG — Cyathochromis Trewavas, 1935 (genus record)