Lethrinops sp. "Dark" "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. "Dark" 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. "Dark".

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 dimorphismMinimalThe trade name records an overall darker body tone than typical congeners; no sex-specific colour description has been published for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The South East Arm population

Lethrinops sp. "Dark" "South East Arm" is the South East Arm population of Lethrinops sp. "Dark", 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. "Dark", 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. "Dark" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded in Lake Malawi's South East Arm, named for an overall darker body tone than is typical of the mostly pale, silvery Lethrinops that share its sand habitat. It has no formal description, authority, or FishBase entry, and is known only by this trade name.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Dark" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Dark" "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)