Taxonomy & naming
Haplochromis sp. "Hippo Point Salmon" is a trade label for an undescribed Lake Victoria cichlid. The hobby sells it as Ptyochromis sp. "hippo point salmon". The atlas files Lake Victoria haplochromines under Haplochromis in the broad sense, so this page uses that genus. Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) calls it a rather new cichlid. The form is undescribed, so it has no valid name, authority or year.
Morphology
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) describes males with a lovely red blush and some blue and shades of green. Females are light olive green with some dark markings on the side. Males reach about 3.5–4 in and females stay smaller at about 2–2.5 in.
Habitat
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) found little locality information. He says the fish is supposedly found near Hippo Pointe, where many hippos live, but gives no coordinates or other detail. He guesses it lives over muddy and sandy areas, as many Victoria haplochromines do.
Feeding
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) says feeding is no problem: they readily accept flakes, pellets and frozen food. He fed Doromin, spirulina flakes and Aquadine dura-flakes.
Mating
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) says the fish breeds in the standard haplochromine fashion, in the T-position, and often after a water change, especially one followed by a falling-pressure storm. He advises one or two males to four to six females and a flat slate for breeding.
Breeding
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) says the fish is a maternal mouthbrooder and a precocious breeder: females have spawned at six months, though spawns are larger and more successful from nine months. Small females carry 9 to 12 fry and larger ones approach 24 and up. He says females hold tenaciously, nearly to starvation, so he strips at 14 to 18 days, when the fry are nearly fully formed and ready for Cyclop-eeze and powdered flake. The mouths of small females are easily damaged. He reports a tendency to spinal defects near the tail in both sexes, often not visible until six months, and advises culling such fish at once.
In the aquarium
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) calls the fish easy to keep but pretty aggressive. His male quickly dominated a breeding colony of six Aulonocara marleri, though it was smaller than the marleri male. He advises caves and hiding places for females and subdominant males. He kept his fish in neutral water of medium hardness and was told Lake Victoria water is highly variable, so the fish should be adaptable. Adults were $12 to $15 and sub-adults $9 to $12, with good availability from wholesalers.
Conservation
An undescribed form has no IUCN category, and none is claimed here. Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2001) says he has seen sources noting that this form is threatened, and writes that the introduction of the Nile Perch has put over 400 Lake Victoria haplochromine species at risk. The atlas has no assessment for this form.