Lethrinops mylodon "Nkhata Bay"

Nkhata Bayn-KAH-tah BAY (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 mylodon account →

Specific to Nkhata Bay

  • 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 mylodon.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.5 in14 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 536 ppm
Depthnot recorded
DietBenthic invertivore; molariform pharyngeal teeth suggest ability to crush harder-bodied prey (e.g. small molluscs, ostracods)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)Not documented; likely a modest brood by comparison with similarly built congeners
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical seasonal dimorphism: breeding males more saturated in colour; females and non-breeding fish plain and silvery. Not documented in detail for this species.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhata Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhata Bay fish at malawi.si

About the species

Lethrinops mylodon is a sand-dwelling haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, named for grinding, molar-like pharyngeal teeth that set it apart from the finer-toothed members of its genus — anatomy suited to crushing harder-bodied prey than the soft invertebrates most Lethrinops sift from the sand. It is documented here from Nkhata Bay on the western shore and the lake's South East Arm in the south, two sites separated by most of the lake's length.

Full Lethrinops mylodon account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops mylodon "Nkhata Bay"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — online database (authority for valid fish names; genus Lethrinops, Regan 1922)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; genus Lethrinops and Malawi's sand-dwelling cichlid community)