Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Labidochromis freibergi

Labidochromis freibergi "Mitande Reef (Rocks)"

Mitande Reef (Rocks) — mee-TAHN-deh REEF ROKS (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 Labidochromis freibergi account →

Specific to Mitande Reef (Rocks)

  • 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 Labidochromis freibergi.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.1 in8 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth16–39 ft5–12 m
DietPicks micro-invertebrates and algae from rock crevices
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderSmall (genus-typical; not precisely documented for this species)
Sexual dimorphismYesDominant males are powder-blue with darker vertical barring; females and subordinate males are plainer. Males also run slightly larger.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mitande Reef (Rocks) population

Labidochromis freibergi "Mitande Reef (Rocks)" is the Mitande Reef (Rocks) population of Labidochromis freibergi, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Labidochromis freibergi, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Mitande Reef (Rocks) fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Labidochromis freibergi is a small blue mbuna found, in the wild, almost nowhere but the rocky northeastern shore of Likoma Island in Lake Malawi. Described in 1974 from aquarium-trade stock and long sold under the catalog name "Labidochromis Ewarti," it earns its living the way most of its genus does — picking aufwuchs and tiny invertebrates from rock with a delicate, forceps-like bite. Its range is tiny enough to put it on conservation radar, yet its shallow, sunlit reefs keep it common where it does occur.

Full Labidochromis freibergi account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Labidochromis freibergi "Mitande Reef (Rocks)"
  2. FishBase — Labidochromis freibergi summary
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Labidochromis freibergi (species record)
  4. FishBase — Species in genus Labidochromis
  5. IRMNG — Labidochromis Trewavas, 1935
  6. Lewis, D.S.C. 1982. A revision of the genus Labidochromis (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 75:189–265 (CLOFFA record)