Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Melanochromis auratus

Melanochromis auratus "Nkhomo Reef"

Nkhomo Reef — n-KOH-moh REEF (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 Nkhomo Reef

  • 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 Nkhomo Reef population

Melanochromis auratus "Nkhomo Reef" is the Nkhomo Reef population of Melanochromis auratus, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the south-central 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 Nkhomo Reef 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 "Nkhomo Reef"
  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