Lamprologus ornatipinnis "Kipili"
Kipili — kee-PEE-lee (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 the base species account →Specific to Kipili
- 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 the base species.
IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
EXEWCRENVUNTLC
CARESNOT LISTED
EWCRENVUNTnot on the priority list
Scientific size3.1 in7.8 cm total length
Temperature75–79 °F24–26 °C
pH7.5–9alkaline
Depth0–164 ft0–50 m
DietMicro-invertebrate predator; forages over sand for small crustaceans, insect larvae and other benthic invertebrates
BreedingShell substrate spawner (polygynous harem)~20–30 fry per spawn
Sexual dimorphismYesMales roughly twice the length of females; brooding females show darkened pelvic-fin leading rays
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →The Kipili population
Lamprologus ornatipinnis "Kipili" is the Kipili population of Lamprologus ornatipinnis, a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Tanganyika in the north-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Lamprologus ornatipinnis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Kipili fish at tanganyika.si →
Sources
- tanganyika.si — Lamprologus ornatipinnis "Kipili"
- Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Lamprologus ornatipinnis (species record)
- FishBase: Lamprologus ornatipinnis Poll, 1949
- GBIF: Lamprologus ornatipinnis Poll, 1949
- FishBase occurrence records (GBIF + FB point data)
- Maréchal & Poll (1991), Check-list of the Freshwater Fishes of Africa (CLOFFA IV), Lamprologus