Iodotropheus stuartgranti "Gome"

GomeGOH-meh (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 Iodotropheus stuartgranti account →

Specific to Gome

  • 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 Iodotropheus stuartgranti.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.5 in9 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 339 ppm
Depth10–49 ft3–15 m
DietAufwuchs grazer (algae, diatoms, and associated micro-invertebrates)
BreedingMaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this species; expected modest by genus comparison
Sexual dimorphismYesMales show more saturated purple-rusty colour and may develop anal-fin egg-spots; females and juveniles are plainer.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Gome population

Iodotropheus stuartgranti "Gome" is the Gome population of Iodotropheus stuartgranti, 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 Iodotropheus stuartgranti, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Gome fish at malawi.si

About the species

Iodotropheus stuartgranti is a small, purplish rock-dwelling cichlid from Lake Malawi, one of a handful of species in the genus Iodotropheus that share the muted, iridescent "rusty" colouring of the far better-known Iodotropheus sprengerae. It was carved out of the sprengerae species complex once careful comparison of colour, meristics, and distribution showed several distinct populations hiding under one name. Documented from the Gome area on the western shore, it is a quiet, unassuming mbuna — easy to overlook next to the lake's flashier blues and yellows, but a good example of how much hidden diversity Lake Malawi's rocky shoreline still holds.

Full Iodotropheus stuartgranti account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Iodotropheus stuartgranti "Gome"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — species search portal (California Academy of Sciences)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)