Lethrinops sp. "Micrentodon Makokola" "Makokola Reef"

Makokola Reefmah-koh-KOH-lah REEF (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. "Micrentodon Makokola" account →

Specific to Makokola Reef

  • 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. "Micrentodon Makokola".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth20–92 ft6–28 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 dimorphismYesShares the reduced inner tooth row of Lethrinops micrentodon; the specific breeding male colour pattern for this population is not documented in the sources consulted.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Makokola Reef population

Lethrinops sp. "Micrentodon Makokola" "Makokola Reef" is the Makokola Reef population of Lethrinops sp. "Micrentodon Makokola", 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. "Micrentodon Makokola", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Makokola Reef fish at malawi.si

About the species

Lethrinops sp. "Micrentodon Makokola" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded from Makokola Reef in the South East Arm region of Lake Malawi. The first word of the trade name nods to Lethrinops micrentodon, a validly described species popularly known in the aquarium trade as the orange-cap lethrinops and named for its unusually small inner row of teeth. Collectors distinguish this Makokola Reef population by its own trade name rather than lumping it with the widely traded "micrentodon" form collected elsewhere in the lake, implying a recognisable difference between them, though the exact nature of that difference is not detailed in the sources consulted. No authority, publication year, FishBase number, or Red List status exists for this form.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Micrentodon Makokola" account →

Sources

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