Melanochromis simulans "Lumessi"
Lumessi — loo-MEH-see (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 simulans account →Specific to Lumessi
- 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 simulans.
The Lumessi population
Melanochromis simulans "Lumessi" is the Lumessi population of Melanochromis simulans, a geographic colour form from the Mozambique coast of Lake Malawi in the south-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Melanochromis simulans, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Lumessi fish at malawi.si →
About the species
Melanochromis simulans is a rock-dwelling mbuna documented from a cluster of reefs on Lake Malawi's central-western and central shore, including Gome, Chiofu, Masinje, Ntekete, Lumessi and Nkhungu Point. Its species name, Latin for 'resembling' or 'imitating,' is a common device in cichlid taxonomy for a species that was found to closely resemble an already-described relative — in this case presumably another member of the elongated, horizontally striped Melanochromis genus. That naming choice itself is a useful clue to the fish's identity: it is likely to be easily confused with a similar-looking congener in the field.
Full Melanochromis simulans account →