Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Diplotaxodon sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka"

Diplotaxodon sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka" "Msaka"

Msaka — m-SAH-kah (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 sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka" account →

Specific to Msaka

  • 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 sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6 in15 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth0–722 ft0–220 m
DietOpen-water zooplanktivore (complex-typical; feeds on copepods, Chaoborus larvae and small fish as available)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, complex-typical)Not documented for this form; the similarly named Diplotaxodon limnothrissa is notably low-fecundity, typically 1-2 large fry per brood
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNot documented for this form; the similarly named Diplotaxodon limnothrissa shows only a yellow-white dorsal-fin blaze in ripe males, with sexes otherwise alike.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Msaka population

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

Colour reference: living Msaka fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Diplotaxodon sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka" is an undescribed open-water cichlid recorded at Msaka on the southeastern Malawian shore of Lake Malawi. Its trade name places it alongside Diplotaxodon limnothrissa, the abundant pelagic zooplanktivore that gives its name to the lake's commercial "ndunduma" fishery, but the Msaka population has never been folded into that species or given a description of its own. It belongs to a genus of silvery, big-eyed, open-water haplochromines that is one of the least resolved groups in the lake — a radiation collectors and researchers alike still sort mostly by locality and subtle fin markings rather than by settled taxonomy.

Full Diplotaxodon sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Diplotaxodon sp. "Limnothrissa Msaka" "Msaka"
  2. malawi.si — Diplotaxodon species and locality database
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Diplotaxodon genus overview (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Turner, G.F. (1994). Description of a commercially important pelagic species of the genus Diplotaxodon (Pisces: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Africa. J. Fish Biol. 44(5):799-807
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; deep-water and pelagic Diplotaxodon)