Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Lethrinops sp. "Zebra"

Lethrinops sp. "Zebra" "Nkhata Bay"

Lethrinops sp. "Zebra" (Nkhata Bay)

Nkhata Bay — n-KAH-tah BAY (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. "Zebra" account →

Specific to Nkhata Bay

  • 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. "Zebra".

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
Depth26–82 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 dimorphismYesTrade name implies vertical barring in breeding males, a pattern documented in a few other Lethrinops species; not formally described for this form. Not to be confused with the unrelated Maylandia zebra mbuna complex.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhata Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhata Bay fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Lethrinops sp. "Zebra" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded at Nkhata Bay on Lake Malawi's northern west shore. The name is worth a note of caution: "zebra" is also the long-standing common name for the unrelated, rock-dwelling Maylandia (formerly Pseudotropheus) zebra complex, and the two should not be confused — this is a sand-sifting Lethrinops, not a mbuna. Within Lethrinops, a barred pattern of the kind the name implies does turn up in breeding males of a few species, but no formal colour description exists for this specific form.

Full Lethrinops sp. "Zebra" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Lethrinops sp. "Zebra" "Nkhata Bay"
  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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