Lamprologus ornatipinnis "Mwamgongo"
Mwamgongo — m-wahm-GOHN-goh (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 Mwamgongo
- 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 Mwamgongo population
Lamprologus ornatipinnis "Mwamgongo" is the Mwamgongo population of Lamprologus ornatipinnis, a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Tanganyika in the northern 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 Mwamgongo fish at tanganyika.si →
Sources
- tanganyika.si — Lamprologus ornatipinnis "Mwamgongo"
- 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