Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Melanochromis vermivorus

Melanochromis vermivorus "Boadzulu Island"

Boadzulu Island — boh-ah-DZOO-loo 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 Melanochromis vermivorus account →

Specific to Boadzulu 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 Melanochromis vermivorus.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4 in10 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)slightly hardup to 179 ppm
Depth0–82 ft0–25 m
DietGrazes Aufwuchs (algae & micro-invertebrates); despite the epithet, not a documented worm specialist
BreedingMaternal (ovophilous) mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)Not documented; genus-typical broods run to several dozen eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical dichromatism expected; specific colour pattern not documented for this species. Note: Melanochromis includes species with dramatic, socially-linked colour reversal, but this should not be assumed for vermivorus without confirmation.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Boadzulu Island population

Melanochromis vermivorus "Boadzulu Island" is the Boadzulu Island population of Melanochromis vermivorus, 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 vermivorus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Boadzulu Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Melanochromis vermivorus is a rock-dwelling mbuna cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, carrying a species name — Latin for "worm-eating" — that has puzzled generations of hobbyists, since the fish's actual diet is the same algae-and-invertebrate grazing typical of its genus rather than any specialised worm-hunting habit. It belongs to Melanochromis, a genus of elongate, often boldly striped mbuna known for dramatic, socially driven colour changes in some species. It is documented here from Boadzulu Island in the southern lake.

Full Melanochromis vermivorus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Melanochromis vermivorus "Boadzulu Island"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — online database (authority for valid fish names; Pseudotropheus/Melanochromis vermivorus Trewavas, 1935)
  3. Konings, A. & Stauffer, J.R. (2012). Review of the Lake Malawi genus Melanochromis, with description of a new species. Zootaxa 3258:1–27
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; genus Melanochromis)