Mylochromis mola "Mazinzi Reef"

Mazinzi Reefmah-ZEEN-zee 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 Mylochromis mola account →

Specific to Mazinzi 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 Mylochromis mola.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size8 in20 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietMolluscivore-leaning; crushes snails and other hard-shelled invertebrates with molar-like pharyngeal teeth, also takes softer invertebrate prey
BreedingMaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this species; expected several dozen eggs given the genus's moderate-to-large adult size
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical dichromatism expected in breeding males; species-specific colour pattern not confirmed.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mazinzi Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Mazinzi Reef fish at malawi.si

About the species

Mylochromis mola is a sand- and rock-associated Lake Malawi cichlid documented from a scatter of island localities in the central and southern lake, including Chizumulu Island in the north and the Maleri and Domwe island groups further south. Its species name, Latin for 'millstone,' echoes the meaning of its genus name and points directly to the fish's most distinctive functional trait: molar-like pharyngeal teeth, set deep in the throat, adapted for crushing hard-shelled prey such as snails.

Full Mylochromis mola account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Mylochromis mola "Mazinzi Reef"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Mylochromis mola (species record; authority for valid names)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost field authority on Lake Malawi haplochromine cichlids)