Maylandia nigrodorsalis "Thundu"
Thundu — TOON-doo (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 Maylandia nigrodorsalis account →Specific to Thundu
- 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 Maylandia nigrodorsalis.
The Thundu population
Maylandia nigrodorsalis "Thundu" is the Thundu population of Maylandia nigrodorsalis, a geographic colour form from the Mozambique coast of Lake Malawi in the south-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Maylandia nigrodorsalis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Thundu fish at malawi.si →
About the species
Maylandia nigrodorsalis is a rock-dwelling mbuna documented from a cluster of reefs on Lake Malawi's eastern, Mozambican-border shore, including Chiloelo, Meponda, Nkhungu Point, Nkolongwe and Thundu. Its species name, Latin for 'black-dorsal,' names the fish's most obvious field mark directly: a dark or black dorsal fin, set against the barred body pattern typical of its genus. Like its relatives in Maylandia, it is a narrow-range rock endemic whose identity is anchored to a specific stretch of reef.
Full Maylandia nigrodorsalis account →