Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu"

Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu" "Magunga"

Magunga — mah-GOON-gah (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. "Gigas Lupingu" account →

Specific to Magunga

  • 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. "Gigas Lupingu".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth26–98 ft8–30 m
DietRock-associated invertebrate picker and aufwuchs grazer, gigas-typical (exact mode not documented for this form)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)Not documented for this form; the large-bodied gigas group is generally credited with somewhat larger clutches than smaller Labidochromis
Sexual dimorphismMinimalColour has not been documented for this form in the sources consulted; not fabricated here pending a published field account.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Magunga population

Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu" "Magunga" is the Magunga population of Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu", 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. "Gigas Lupingu", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Magunga fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu" is an undescribed, gigas-type Labidochromis whose trade name references Lupingu, a locality on Tanzania’s Lake Malawi shore, while the single record consulted for this article places it at Magunga, further north on the Malawian side. As with the genus’s other "Gigas [locality]" trade forms, the name signals a resemblance to the large-bodied Labidochromis gigas (Lewis, 1982) rather than a confirmed identification. It has no authority, no year, and no FishBase entry.

Full Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Labidochromis sp. "Gigas Lupingu" "Magunga"
  2. malawi.si — Labidochromis species and locality database
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Labidochromis genus overview (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; Labidochromis gigas biology and the genus's gigas-group trade forms)