Lethrinops sp. "Big Head" "South East Arm"

South East ArmSOWTH 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 sp. "Big Head" 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 sp. "Big Head".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth26–98 ft8–30 m
DietSand-sifting invertivore, filtering micro-invertebrates from sand through the gill rakers (genus-typical; not directly documented for this form)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this form; genus-typical, a few dozen eggs
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNo colour description specific to this form has been published beyond the head-proportion trait implied by its trade name; not fabricated here pending a documented account.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The South East Arm population

Lethrinops sp. "Big Head" "South East Arm" is the South East Arm population of Lethrinops sp. "Big Head", 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 sp. "Big Head", 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 sp. "Big Head" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded in Lake Malawi's South East Arm, named in the hobby for a head noticeably larger and blockier in proportion to the body than is typical of most slender-headed Lethrinops. It is known only by this trade name, with no formal description, authority, or FishBase entry, and belongs to the broad group of sand-sifting haplochromines that share the South East Arm's open, sediment-rich habitat with several other similarly undescribed Lethrinops forms.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Big Head" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Big Head" "South East Arm"
  2. malawi.si — Lethrinops species database
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Lethrinops genus profile
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)