Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Lethrinops longipinnis

Lethrinops longipinnis "South East Arm"

South East Arm — SOWTH EEST ARM (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 Lethrinops longipinnis account →

Specific to South East Arm

  • 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 Lethrinops longipinnis.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.3 in16 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth98–459 ft30–140 m
DietSand-sifting benthic invertivore; insect larvae and other soft invertebrates from open sandy bottoms
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from genus; not documented for this species)not documented; sand-dwelling Lethrinops congeners typically carry a few dozen eggs/fry
Sexual dimorphismNot documentedNot firmly documented for this species; Lethrinops are typically seasonally dimorphic, with colourful nuptial males and plain silvery females.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The South East Arm population

Lethrinops longipinnis "South East Arm" is the South East Arm population of Lethrinops longipinnis, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Lethrinops longipinnis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living South East Arm fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Lethrinops longipinnis is a sand-sifting haplochromine cichlid endemic to the southern part of Lake Malawi, described by David Eccles and Digby Lewis in 1978 during their taxonomic study of the genus. Its name — 'long fin' — marks the elongate pectoral fins that distinguish it. It ranges across open sandy bottoms over a wide span of depth, from about 30 m down to well over 100 m, where it mines the substrate for insect larvae and other soft invertebrates.

Full Lethrinops longipinnis account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops longipinnis "South East Arm"
  2. FishBase — Lethrinops longipinnis Eccles & Lewis, 1978
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Lethrinops longipinnis (species record; authorship & status)
  4. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Lethrinops (genus record)
  5. The ETYFish Project — Cichlidae (Pseudocrenilabrinae): Lethrinops longipinnis etymology ('long fin', for the elongate pectoral fins)
  6. Eccles, D. H. & Lewis, D. S. C. 1978/1979. A taxonomic study of the genus Lethrinops Regan (Pisces, Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi (original description; via CRC bibliography)