Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Cynotilapia sp. "Hara"

Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" "Gallireya Reef"

Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" (Gallireya Reef)

Gallireya Reef — gah-lee-REH-yah REEF (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. "Hara" account →

Specific to Gallireya Reef

  • 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. "Hara".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesCynotilapia afradescribed as Hemichromis afer Günther 1894
Scientific size3.5 in8.5 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 446 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth10–66 ft3–20 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 dimorphismYesGenus-typical expectation: males show fuller breeding colour and brighter fin edging than females; the specific pattern of this form is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Gallireya Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Gallireya Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" is an undescribed mbuna recorded from Gallireya Reef on Lake Malawi's northern Malawian shore, close to Chilumba — a stretch of coastline that supports several distinct, narrow-range Cynotilapia colour forms. Like the great majority of Cynotilapia populations around the lake, it has never been given a formal scientific name and is known only by this informal field designation, one of dozens of local colour and locality forms that fragment across the genus's range.

Full Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" "Gallireya Reef"
  2. malawi.si — Cynotilapia (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; northern-lake Cynotilapia colour forms)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Cynotilapia (genus profile)
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