Lethrinops sp. "Oliveri" "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. "Oliveri" 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. "Oliveri".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth26–82 ft8–25 m
DietSand-sifting invertivore; genus-typical, takes mouthfuls of sand and filters out chironomid larvae, ostracods, and other small benthic invertebrates.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; modest, genus-typical
Sexual dimorphismYesPresumed present as in all Lethrinops (drab females, coloured breeding males), but the specific breeding-male pattern has not been documented for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The South East Arm population

Lethrinops sp. "Oliveri" "South East Arm" is the South East Arm population of Lethrinops sp. "Oliveri", 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. "Oliveri", 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. "Oliveri" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded from the South East Arm of Lake Malawi, one of many informally named Lethrinops forms collected from that broad, species-rich stretch of shoreline south of Cape Maclear. Its trade name follows the common Malawi cichlid-keeping convention of Latinising a person's surname with an -i suffix, though which collector, exporter or aquarist it commemorates is not recorded in the sources consulted here. As with most undescribed Lethrinops, the fine detail of its breeding colour has not been formally published, and this article treats that gap honestly rather than filling it with an invented description.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Oliveri" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Oliveri" "South East Arm"
  2. malawi.si — species and locality database (Konings-based)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Lethrinops (genus profile)