Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep"

Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep" "Chinyamwezi Island"

Chinyamwezi Island — cheen-yahm-WEH-zee EYE-land (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 Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep" account →

Specific to Chinyamwezi Island

  • 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 Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.5 in8.5 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth49–115 ft15–35 m
DietPicks loose diatoms, filamentous algae, and fine detritus from rock and sand using the genus's diagnostic unicuspid teeth, rather than scraping bound algal turf.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodera few dozen eggs (genus-typical)
Sexual dimorphismYesMales show a predominantly yellow base colour, per the trade name; females and non-dominant males are expected to be paler and less contrastingly marked, following genus-wide patterns, though the specific female pattern is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chinyamwezi Island population

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

Colour reference: living Chinyamwezi Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep" is an undescribed mbuna recorded from deeper water off Chinyamwezi Island, one of two small islets — the other being neighbouring Chinyankwazi — in the southeastern arm of Lake Malawi that also holds the better documented Cynotilapia sp. "Chinyankwazi" colour form. Both islets fall within a protected area of the lake where ornamental fish collection is prohibited, according to Ad Konings' field notes on the group. The name records a yellow-based ("flavus", Latin for yellow) colour type collected from deep water, distinguishing it from the blue, black-barred pattern documented for the islets' better-known Chinyankwazi form.

Full Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Cynotilapia sp. "Flavus Deep" "Chinyamwezi Island"
  2. malawi.si — Cynotilapia (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Cichlids Yearbook, Volume 2 (Cichlid Press; Chinyankwazi/Chinyamwezi Cynotilapia populations and their protected-area status)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Cynotilapia (genus profile)