Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Melanochromis auratus

Melanochromis auratus "Mitande Reef (Rocks)"

Mitande Reef (Rocks) — mee-TAHN-deh REEF 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 Melanochromis auratus account →

Specific to Mitande Reef (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 Melanochromis auratus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.3 in11 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth0–131 ft0–40 m
DietGrazes aufwuchs (algae & micro-invertebrates)
BreedingMaternal (ovophilous) mouthbrooderup to ~40 eggs (hobby reports ~25–50)
Sexual dimorphismYesStrong, socially reversible dichromatism: females, juveniles, and subordinate males are golden with bold black-and-white horizontal stripes, while a dominant male reverses to dark brown/black with pale-blue stripes — a near photographic negative driven by social rank.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mitande Reef (Rocks) population

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

Colour reference: living Mitande Reef (Rocks) fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Melanochromis auratus, the golden mbuna, is a small rock-dwelling cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi and one of the very first African cichlids to reach the aquarium trade. It is famous for two things: a dramatic, reversible color flip in which a gold-and-black female-pattern fish darkens into a near-photographic negative of itself when it becomes a dominant male, and a temperament so ferocious that experienced keepers rank it among the most aggressive mbuna in the hobby. Cheap, hardy, and stunning, it is also one of the most commonly mismanaged fish a beginner can buy.

Full Melanochromis auratus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Melanochromis auratus "Mitande Reef (Rocks)"
  2. FishBase: Melanochromis auratus (Golden mbuna)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Chromis auratus Boulenger 1897 (valid as Melanochromis auratus)
  4. GBIF: Melanochromis auratus (Boulenger, 1897)
  5. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: golden mbuna (Melanochromis auratus)
  6. Konings, A. & Stauffer, J.R. (2012). Review of the Lake Malawi genus Melanochromis, with description of a new species. Zootaxa 3258:1–27