Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Docimodus johnstoni

Docimodus johnstoni "Jalo Reef"

Jalo Reef — JAH-loh 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 Docimodus johnstoni account →

Specific to Jalo 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 Docimodus johnstoni.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size9.8 in25 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth0–131 ft0–40 m
DietPterygophage — feeds on the fins of clariid catfishes (trophic level ~4.2)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderNot well documented
Sexual dimorphismYesAs in most Malawi haplochromines, breeding males intensify in colour and carry anal-fin egg spots; females and non-territorial males stay drabber. Poorly catalogued because the species is rarely kept.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Jalo Reef population

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

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

About the species

Docimodus johnstoni is one of Lake Malawi's strangest predators: a heavy-jawed haplochromine that makes a living biting the fins off catfish. Boulenger named it in 1897 from fish Sir Harry Johnston shipped out of the Upper Shiré River, and it has stayed both rare and barely-kept ever since. Most aquarists never see one — it is the parasitic side of the Malawi flock, a fish whose anatomy was built around a single peculiar meal.

Full Docimodus johnstoni account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Docimodus johnstoni "Jalo Reef"
  2. FishBase — Docimodus johnstoni (species summary, ID 2266)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Docimodus johnstoni (species record; type locality Upper Shiré River; syntypes BMNH 1896.10.25.29-30)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Docimodus (genus profile; type species, valid species, ecology)
  5. Cichlid Room Companion — Docimodus johnstoni (species profile)
  6. GBIF — Docimodus johnstoni (occurrence records, Lake Malawi)