Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown" "Lupingu"

Lupinguloo-PEEN-goo (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 sp. "Caeruleus Brown" account →

Specific to Lupingu

  • 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 sp. "Caeruleus Brown".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4 in10 cm total length
Temperature72–82 °F22–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth3–164 ft1–50 m
DietCrevice-picking insectivore (complex-typical; exact detail not documented for this form)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, complex-typical)Not documented for this form; genus-typical broods run roughly 7-18 fry (per L. sp. 'Hongi')
Sexual dimorphismMinimalPlain brown body colour is the defining trade-name trait; sexes are reported to look essentially alike in wild Labidochromis caeruleus populations, but this has not been separately confirmed for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Lupingu population

Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown" "Lupingu" is the Lupingu population of Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown", a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Lupingu fish at malawi.si

About the species

Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown" is an undescribed rock-dwelling cichlid recorded at Lupingu on the southern Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi. Its trade name places it within the highly variable Labidochromis caeruleus colour complex — the species that also produces the hobby's famous solid-yellow "electric yellow" — while flagging that this Lupingu population is a plain, brown-toned form rather than that famous morph, and has never itself been confirmed as Labidochromis caeruleus or given a formal description.

Full Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Labidochromis sp. "Caeruleus Brown" "Lupingu"
  2. malawi.si — Labidochromis species and locality database
  3. MalawiCichlids.com (M.K. Oliver) — Labidochromis caeruleus: colour forms, Lewis (1982) life-colour description, the 'electric yellow' question