Maylandia sp. "Taiwan Masimbwe" "Masimbwe Island"

Masimbwe Islandmah-SEEM-bweh EYE-land (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. "Taiwan Masimbwe" account →

Specific to Masimbwe Island

  • 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. "Taiwan Masimbwe".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4 in10 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth10–66 ft3–20 m
DietAufwuchs grazer (algae, diatoms and associated micro-invertebrates scraped from rock)
BreedingMaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this population
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in detail for this population; genus-typical dichromatism expected, with males the more brightly coloured sex
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Masimbwe Island population

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

Colour reference: living Masimbwe Island fish at malawi.si

About the species

Maylandia sp. "Taiwan Masimbwe" is an undescribed mbuna recorded at Masimbwe Island, in central Lake Malawi. The name places it in the loose "Taiwan" group of trade forms, a label that traces back to Taiwan(ee) Reef, a well-known collection point elsewhere in the lake, and marks that this Masimbwe Island population is regarded as related to, but distinct from, the fish collected at that original reef. It has not been formally described.

Full Maylandia sp. "Taiwan Masimbwe" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Maylandia sp. "Taiwan Masimbwe" "Masimbwe Island"
  2. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 5th ed. (Cichlid Press)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Genus record (authority for valid names; this trade name has no catalog entry)