Julidochromis transcriptus "Kissi"
Kissi — KEE-see (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 transcriptus account →Specific to Kissi
- 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 transcriptus.
The Kissi population
Julidochromis transcriptus "Kissi" is the Kissi population of Julidochromis transcriptus, a geographic colour form from Lake Tanganyika in Lake Tanganyika part of the lake. It is the same species as Julidochromis transcriptus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Kissi fish at tanganyika.si →
About the species
Julidochromis transcriptus, the masked julie, is a tiny rock-dwelling cichlid endemic to a short stretch of the northwest shore of Lake Tanganyika. Boldly marbled in black and white, it is one of the most popular dwarf "julies" in the aquarium hobby — a hardy, cave-spawning fish that pairs for life and tends its young in a rock crevice. Yet that same desirability is now its undoing in the wild: with a known range of barely 37 km², it was uplisted from Least Concern to Critically Endangered in 2025, driven almost entirely by collection for the ornamental trade.
Full Julidochromis transcriptus account →