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

Cynotilapia sp. "Ndumbi" "Linganjala Reef"

Linganjala Reef — leen-gahn-JAH-lah 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. "Ndumbi" account →

Specific to Linganjala 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. "Ndumbi".

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
Depth7–39 ft2–12 m
DietPicks loose diatoms, filamentous algae, and fine detritus from rock and sand using the genus's diagnostic unicuspid teeth; documented as sheltering in caves rather than foraging in the open.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodera few dozen eggs (genus-typical)
Sexual dimorphismYesColoration recorded as almost entirely black (Ribbink et al.); dichromatism between sexes not documented in detail for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Linganjala Reef population

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

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

About the species

Cynotilapia sp. "Ndumbi" is a rare, almost entirely black mbuna first identified by Ribbink and coworkers during their early-1980s rocky-shore survey of Lake Malawi at Ndumbi Rocks, near Likoma Island. It lives in secluded caves in shallow water, an unusually retiring habit for a Cynotilapia, and this database also records it from Linganjala Reef, a further locality in the same south-central stretch of the lake. Like almost every local Cynotilapia colour form, it has never been given a formal scientific name.

Full Cynotilapia sp. "Ndumbi" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Cynotilapia sp. "Ndumbi" "Linganjala Reef"
  2. malawi.si — Cynotilapia (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Cichlids Yearbook, Volume 2 (Cichlid Press; Ribbink et al.'s Ndumbi Rocks Cynotilapia record and habitat notes)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Cynotilapia (genus profile)