Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Julidochromis marlieri

Julidochromis marlieri "Magara"

Magara — mah-GAH-rah (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 Julidochromis marlieri account →

Specific to Magara

  • 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 Julidochromis marlieri.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.9 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.5–9alkaline
Depth3–98 ft1–30 m
Dietbiocover grazer — aufwuchs, micro-invertebrates and zooplankton picked from rock surfaces
Breedingcave/crevice substrate spawnersmall, ~10–50 eggs per spawn
Sexual dimorphismYesfemales usually larger; sexes otherwise similar — reliable sexing needs venting
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Magara population

Julidochromis marlieri "Magara" is the Magara population of Julidochromis marlieri, a geographic colour form from the Burundi coast of Lake Tanganyika in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Julidochromis marlieri, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Magara fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Julidochromis marlieri, the Marlier's or checkerboard julie, is a small rock-dwelling cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika, instantly recognizable by the grid of dark markings stamped across its pale, elongate body. It belongs to the handful of "julies" that hug the rocky reefs of Africa's deepest lake, grazing the thin film of algae, sponges, and tiny invertebrates that coats the stone. Its most surprising trait is social rather than visual: in this species the female is the larger, more dominant partner of a bonded pair, a sex-role reversal rare among monogamous cichlids that has made the fish a favorite subject for behavioral biologists.

Full Julidochromis marlieri account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Julidochromis marlieri "Magara"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Julidochromis marlieri
  3. FishBase — Julidochromis marlieri Poll, 1956
  4. GBIF — Julidochromis marlieri
  5. iNaturalist — Marlier's Julie (Julidochromis marlieri)
  6. Barlow & Lee (2005), Sex-Reversed Dominance and Aggression in Julidochromis marlieri — reviewed in TFH, 'She's So Heavy' (W. Leibel)