Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Ectodus descampsii

Ectodus descampsii "Ndole Bay"

Ectodus descampsii (Chisanze, Kala, Kalambo Lodge, Kipili, Lupita Island, Mvuna Island, Namansi, Ndole Bay, Sumbu, Udachi, Ulwile Island, Musi Point)

Ndole Bay — n-DOH-leh 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 Ectodus descampsii account →

Specific to Ndole 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 Ectodus descampsii.

IUCNVULNERABLE · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesEctodus descampsiiBoulenger 1898 · this species
Scientific size4 in10.4 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH8.6–9.3alkaline
Habitat waterhard · 600–690 µS/cmLake Tanganyika
Depth3–49 ft1–15 m
DietSand-sifting invertivore
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (polygamous, pit-spawning)Not firmly documented; genus-typical small clutch on the order of a few dozen eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesSubtle: males reported to have a larger dorsal blotch and develop a higher dorsal fin, stockier build and intensified color when breeding; reliable fixed sexing characters are thin.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Ndole Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Ndole Bay fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Ectodus descampsii is a small, silvery sand-sifting cichlid endemic to the southern reaches of Lake Tanganyika, instantly recognizable by the single bold black blotch on its dorsal fin. It belongs to the Ectodini, the lake's most ecologically varied cichlid tribe, and lives in loose, restless shoals over open sand, where it shovels mouthfuls of grit to strain out insect larvae, crustaceans and algae. A polygamous maternal mouthbrooder that is rarely bred in captivity, it is also one of the more cautionary conservation stories among Tanganyika's sand-dwellers: once common, it was downgraded from Least Concern to Vulnerable in 2025 as beach-seine fishing and shoreline sedimentation thinned its populations along the Zambian coast.

Full Ectodus descampsii account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Ectodus descampsii "Ndole Bay"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Ectodus descampsii (Boulenger 1898)
  3. FishBase — Ectodus descampsii summary
  4. GBIF — Ectodus descampsii Boulenger, 1898
  5. Koblmüller et al. 2004 — Evolutionary relationships in the sand-dwelling cichlid lineage (Ectodini) of Lake Tanganyika
  6. Tribe Ectodini overview — Cichlid Room Companion
  7. IUCN Red List — Ectodus descampsii "Ndole Bay"
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