Lethrinops sp. "Mdoka Red" "Mdoka"

Mdokam-DOH-kah (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. "Mdoka Red" account →

Specific to Mdoka

  • 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. "Mdoka Red".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–82 ft5–25 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 dimorphismYesBreeding males develop an overall reddish nuptial colour; the precise distribution of red across the body is not documented in the sources consulted. Females and non-breeding males are plain silver.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mdoka population

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

Colour reference: living Mdoka fish at malawi.si

About the species

Lethrinops sp. "Mdoka Red" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded from Mdoka, a collection site in the far northern reaches of Lake Malawi that has also produced named forms in other genera, including Aulonocara and Copadichromis. The trade name is straightforwardly descriptive: breeding males of this population develop a reddish nuptial colour, distinguishing them from the paler or blue-toned Lethrinops recorded at other northern-lake sites. No authority, publication year, FishBase number, or Red List status exists for it.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Mdoka Red" account →

Sources

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