Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Lethrinops sp. "Silver Crescent"

Lethrinops sp. "Silver Crescent" "Tchinga Reef"

Lethrinops sp. "Silver Crescent" (Tchinga Reef)

Tchinga Reef — TCHEEN-gah 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. "Silver Crescent" account →

Specific to Tchinga 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. "Silver Crescent".

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
Depth20–66 ft6–20 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 dimorphismYesNamed for a pale, crescent-shaped marking used to identify the form; exact placement, sex, and condition of expression not formally documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Tchinga Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Tchinga Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Lethrinops sp. "Silver Crescent" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded at Tchinga Reef on Lake Malawi's northern west shore. Its trade name is a literal description — a pale, crescent-shaped marking is the feature collectors used to tell it apart from other Lethrinops in the area — a naming style common across many undescribed Malawi forms. Beyond that one distinguishing mark, little has been formally published about the fish, and this article does not invent detail the record does not support.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Silver Crescent" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Silver Crescent" "Tchinga Reef"
  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)
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