Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Dimidiochromis strigatus

Dimidiochromis strigatus "Kambiri Point"

Kambiri Point — kahm-BEE-ree POYNT (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 Dimidiochromis strigatus account →

Specific to Kambiri Point

  • 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 Dimidiochromis strigatus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size9.6 in24.4 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth3–49 ft1–15 m
DietPredator (small fish & invertebrates)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderUp to ~230 fry recorded in aquaria
Sexual dimorphismYesMales larger and more vividly colored, developing a red opercular spot and red anal fin in breeding dress; females smaller and plainer.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kambiri Point population

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

Colour reference: living Kambiri Point fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Dimidiochromis strigatus is a large, midwater predatory cichlid endemic to the Lake Malawi system, where it hunts juvenile fish in shallow, plant-fringed sandy bays. Often sold under the trade name "Haplochromis Sunset," it is the least familiar of the four Dimidiochromis species in the hobby, overshadowed by its eye-biting cousin Dimidiochromis compressiceps. The genuinely surprising thing about it is its choice of address: a fish that grows to a hand's length lives almost on the beach, in just a meter or two of water, which is exactly why it has quietly vanished from stretches of shoreline where fishermen drag seine nets.

Full Dimidiochromis strigatus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Dimidiochromis strigatus "Kambiri Point"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Dimidiochromis strigatus (Regan, 1922)
  3. FishBase: Dimidiochromis strigatus (Haplochromis sunset)
  4. FishBase Field Guide: Dimidiochromis strigatus
  5. GBIF: Dimidiochromis strigatus (Regan, 1922)
  6. Regan, C.T. 1922. The Cichlid Fishes of Lake Nyassa. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1921:675-727 (reference record)