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

Cynotilapia sp. "Iwera" "Lutara Reef"

Lutara Reef — loo-TAH-rah 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. "Iwera" account →

Specific to Lutara 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. "Iwera".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.5 in9 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth10–66 ft3–20 m
DietMixed algae and zooplankton feeder, picking loose algae, phytoplankton, and drifting zooplankton near rocky substrate
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; expected modest (genus-typical, a few dozen eggs)
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in detail for this form; many Cynotilapia show males in bright blue with black markings against plainer or barred females.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Lutara Reef population

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

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

About the species

Cynotilapia sp. "Iwera" is an undescribed mbuna cichlid from the far northern part of Lake Malawi, recorded at Lutara Reef and at Manda on the Tanzanian shore. It has no formal scientific name. The trade tag is a straightforward locality reference, distinguishing this population from the many other named and unnamed Cynotilapia forms scattered around the lake's rocky shoreline. It belongs to Cynotilapia, a genus of small, often brilliantly blue mbuna named for their comparatively strong, canine-like teeth.

Full Cynotilapia sp. "Iwera" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Cynotilapia sp. "Iwera" "Lutara Reef"
  2. malawi.si — Cynotilapia species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Cynotilapia genus and mbuna taxonomy (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)