Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail" "Lupingu"

Lupinguloo-PEEN-goo (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. "Zebra Yellow Tail" account →

Specific to Lupingu

  • 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. "Zebra Yellow Tail".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.5 in11 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 (herbivore; genus-typical for zebra-complex Maylandia)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (polygynous; no pair bond)not documented for this form; genus-typical broods run roughly 10-30 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesMales distinguished by a yellow caudal fin (the form's namesake trait) over the blue-and-black barred zebra body; females plainer.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Lupingu population

Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail" "Lupingu" is the Lupingu population of Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail", a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Lupingu fish at malawi.si

About the species

Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail" is an undescribed mbuna from the far northern Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi, named for a documented and literal trait: breeding males carry a yellow tail fin set against the standard blue-and-black barred zebra body. Beyond that feature and its four recorded collection points, little has been published about this population specifically, and it has never received a formal scientific description.

Full Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail" "Lupingu"
  2. malawi.si — Maylandia sp. "Zebra Yellow Tail" locality records (Konings/Bauer database)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Lake Malawi cichlid reference (Ad Konings et al.)