Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Lethrinops sp. "Mbenji Roundhead"

Lethrinops sp. "Mbenji Roundhead" "Ababi Island"Mbenji roundhead lethrinops

Lethrinops sp. "Mbenji Roundhead" (Ababi Island)

Ababi Island — ah-BAH-bee EYE-land (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. "Mbenji Roundhead" account →

Specific to Ababi Island

  • 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. "Mbenji Roundhead".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesLethrinops lethrinusdescribed as Chromis lethrinus Günther 1894
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 446 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth26–98 ft8–30 m
DietSand-sifting invertivore, filtering chironomid larvae and other micro-invertebrates from sand through the gill rakers
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; genus-typical, a few dozen eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesA blunter, more rounded head profile than typical Lethrinops is the documented identifying trait; the specific breeding male colour pattern is not documented in the sources consulted.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Ababi Island population

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

Colour reference: living Ababi Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Lethrinops sp. "Mbenji Roundhead" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded from Ababi Island, a small islet within the Mbenji Island group in west-central Lake Malawi. The trade name describes its most obvious field character: a blunter, more rounded head and snout profile than the sharper, more pointed profile typical of many Lethrinops. Waters around the Mbenji group have long been protected by local customary prohibition against fishing, making the area an unusually well-preserved site for the lake’s cichlid fauna. No authority, publication year, FishBase number, or Red List status exists for this form.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Mbenji Roundhead" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Mbenji Roundhead" "Ababi Island"
  2. malawi.si — Lethrinops species database
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Lethrinops genus profile
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)
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