Taxonomy & naming
Haplochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter" is a trade label for a Lake Victoria cichlid. The hobby sells it as Lipochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter". The atlas files Lake Victoria haplochromines under Haplochromis in the broad sense, so this page uses that genus. Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) writes that it is also called Haplochromis matumbi. The Catalog of Fishes has no valid species "matumbi", so the atlas treats it as a trade label. The form carries no authority or year here.
Morphology
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) describes an elongated body and a large mouth. Males have a greenish hue to the flanks with hints of blue and prominent egg spots. Females are drab. Males reach about 3.5–4 in and females are only slightly smaller.
Habitat
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) reports that web sources say the fish was collected in the Southern Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria. He adds that little is known about its habitat and suspects it lives near rocky areas.
Feeding
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) says the fish is a paedophage, preying on the eggs and fry of other fish. The elongated shape and large mouth let it chase down smaller fish, and he saw very fast acceleration in his tank. In the aquarium it ate a variety of dry and prepared foods, such as flake and pellets.
Mating
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) says the dominant male vigorously drives off other fish. Once the spawning site is secure, the male dances and shakes to call a ripe female to it.
Breeding
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) says the fish breeds in typical mouthbrooder fashion, generally after a water change, and is a precocious breeder: he first saw a female holding about six months after buying six fry. He found females poor holders that lost spawns after 2 to 3 days. He recommends catching the female out within 24 hours of spawning and stripping her. He used a commercial egg tumbler with Acriflavine Plus and had no losses. Spawns averaged 8 to 14 eggs, and young females held only 4 or 5. The eggs are small, about half the size of Pseudotropheus eggs. The gray-green fry were free-swimming at 14 to 16 days, and he suggests newly hatched brine shrimp as a first food.
In the aquarium
Rick Borstein (GCCA, 2003) calls the fish easy to keep, in neutral to hard water at 75–81 °F. It holds its own against aggressive tankmates: he saw 3 in males defend a spawning site against fish twice their size, and kept his with Pseudotropheus fainzilberi, Tyrannochromis nigriventer and Labeotropheus trewavasae. He did not see it in pet stores and expected adults at $15 to $20. It appears on some wholesale lists and in cichlid clubs.
Conservation
The GCCA profile notes that the fish is considered endangered in the wild. The atlas has no IUCN assessment for this trade label, and none is claimed here.