Lamprologus speciosus "Moba"
Moba — MOH-bah (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 Moba
- 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 size2.6 in6.5 cm total length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.4–8.4alkaline
Depth10–197 ft3–60 m
DietBenthic micro-invertebrates: chironomid midge larvae and small crustaceans (copepods)
BreedingShell spawner10–20 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesMales noticeably larger than females; ripe females show a rounder, lighter-colored belly
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →The Moba population
Lamprologus speciosus "Moba" is the Moba population of Lamprologus speciosus, a geographic colour form from the Democratic Republic of the Congo coast of Lake Tanganyika in the north-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Lamprologus speciosus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Moba fish at tanganyika.si →
Sources
- tanganyika.si — Lamprologus speciosus "Moba"
- Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — species record for Lamprologus speciosus (current status: Neolamprologus speciosus, Büscher 1991)
- FishBase — Lamprologus speciosus summary (Büscher, 1991)
- Büscher, H.H. 1991. Neue Schneckencichliden aus dem Tanganjikasee. DATZ 44(6):374–382 (original description; via Catalog of Fishes reference)
- O'Reilly, C.M. et al. 2003. Climate change decreases aquatic ecosystem productivity of Lake Tanganyika, Africa. Nature 424:766–768
- Cohen, A.S. et al. 2016. Climate warming reduces fish production and benthic habitat in Lake Tanganyika. PNAS 113(34):9563–9568