Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Labidochromis joanjohnsonae

Labidochromis joanjohnsonae "Thumbi West Island"

Labidochromis joanjohnsonae (Likoma Island, Mbako Bay, Mbamba Islands, Mitande Reef (Rocks), Thumbi West Island)

Thumbi West Island — TOOM-bee WEST EYE-land (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 joanjohnsonae account →

Specific to Thumbi West Island

  • 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 joanjohnsonae.

IUCNNEAR THREATENED · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesLabidochromis vellicansTrewavas 1935
Scientific size4 in10 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)moderately soft to slightly hard, alkaline107–179 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth3–23 ft1–7 m
DietGrazes aufwuchs / omnivore
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder~20–30 fry
Sexual dimorphismYesStrong: dominant males iridescent sky-blue with barred fins and egg-spots; females and juveniles pearly grey-green with wavy orange-brown stripes
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Thumbi West Island population

Labidochromis joanjohnsonae "Thumbi West Island" is the Thumbi West Island population of Labidochromis joanjohnsonae, 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 joanjohnsonae, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Thumbi West Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Labidochromis joanjohnsonae, the "Pearl of Likoma", is a small rock-dwelling mbuna found in the very shallow margins of a single island in Lake Malawi. It is one of the most genus-shuffled cichlids in the lake, having been parked in Labidochromis, Melanochromis and Pseudotropheus across fifty years of description and re-description. Males turn an electric sky-blue with barred fins while females and juveniles keep soft orange-brown stripes, and the whole species' natural world is a strip of broken rock barely deeper than a swimming pool.

Full Labidochromis joanjohnsonae account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Labidochromis joanjohnsonae "Thumbi West Island"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Labidochromis joanjohnsonae (Johnson 1974)
  3. FishBase — Labidochromis joanjohnsonae (Pearl of Likoma)
  4. GBIF — Labidochromis joanjohnsonae / Pseudotropheus joanjohnsonae taxonomy
  5. FishBase — Territory / distribution list for Labidochromis joanjohnsonae
  6. GBIF (German-language profile) — meristics and male/female coloration of Pseudotropheus joanjohnsonae
  7. IUCN Red List — Labidochromis joanjohnsonae "Thumbi West Island"
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