Lethrinops sp. "Blue Orange" "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. "Blue Orange" 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. "Blue Orange".

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 dimorphismYesBreeding males show a blue-and-orange colour combination per the trade name; precise pattern and female colouration not formally documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The South East Arm population

Lethrinops sp. "Blue Orange" "South East Arm" is the South East Arm population of Lethrinops sp. "Blue Orange", 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. "Blue Orange", 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. "Blue Orange" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded in Lake Malawi's South East Arm, named for a breeding-male colour combination of blue and orange — a pairing found across several unrelated Lethrinops and other Malawian haplochromines, so the name identifies a pattern rather than a unique diagnostic trait. It has no formal description, authority, or FishBase entry, and is known only by this trade name.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Blue Orange" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Blue Orange" "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)