Maylandia sp. "Elongatus Chidunga" "Chidunga Rocks"

Chidunga Rockschee-DOON-gah ROKS (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 sp. "Elongatus Chidunga" account →

Specific to Chidunga Rocks

  • 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 sp. "Elongatus Chidunga".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.5 in11 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 357 ppm
Depth7–49 ft2–15 m
DietAufwuchs grazer (genus-typical), picking algal film and associated invertebrates from rock surfaces and narrow crevices.
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (polygynous, male-territorial; narrow cave/crevice territory presumed)Not documented for this form; elongatus-type mbuna generally run toward the smaller end of the typical mbuna clutch range
Sexual dimorphismMinimalColour pattern not formally documented for this specific Chidunga population; elongatus-type mbuna generally show barred or striped blue/black/yellow patterns that vary by locality.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chidunga Rocks population

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

Colour reference: living Chidunga Rocks fish at malawi.si

About the species

Maylandia sp. "Elongatus Chidunga" is an undescribed rock-dwelling mbuna recorded at Chidunga Rocks, a well-known reef near Monkey Bay on Lake Malawi's southwestern shore. The name places it within the slender, eel-bodied "elongatus" group of mbuna forms — a body shape distinct from the deeper-bodied classic zebra build — collected at a locality that has produced numerous named and undescribed mbuna forms over decades of study and collecting.

Full Maylandia sp. "Elongatus Chidunga" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Maylandia sp. "Elongatus Chidunga" "Chidunga Rocks"
  2. malawi.si — species and locality database (Konings-based)
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Maylandia genus overview (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)