Diplotaxodon ecclesi "Monkey Bay"

Monkey BayMUNK-ee BAY (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 Diplotaxodon ecclesi account →

Specific to Monkey Bay

  • 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 Diplotaxodon ecclesi.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth33–328 ft10–100 m
DietPelagic zooplanktivore/piscivore, varies by species (genus-typical; not species-confirmed)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this species
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical expectation of subdued silvery colouration outside breeding vs. darker breeding males; not confirmed species-specifically.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Monkey Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Monkey Bay fish at malawi.si

About the species

Diplotaxodon ecclesi belongs to one of Lake Malawi's most distinctive cichlid lineages — the Diplotaxodon, a genus of silvery, large-eyed, open-water haplochromines that abandon the rocky littoral entirely and live instead in the pelagic zone, often over considerable depth. Its species epithet is a patronym, most plausibly honouring a researcher surnamed Eccles associated with the systematic study of Malawi's haplochromine cichlids. It is documented near Monkey Bay in the southern lake, a site that also hosts Malawi's principal fisheries research station.

Full Diplotaxodon ecclesi account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Diplotaxodon ecclesi "Monkey Bay"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Species search (California Academy of Sciences; authority for valid names)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)