Mylochromis sp. "Chrysogaster Line" "Luwala Reef"

Luwala Reefloo-WAH-lah 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 sp. "Chrysogaster Line" account →

Specific to Luwala 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 sp. "Chrysogaster Line".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietNot documented for this population; genus is feeding-diverse (invertebrate pickers, mollusc crushers, some egg/fry predators)
BreedingMaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this population
Sexual dimorphismYesTrade name implies golden-yellow belly colouring in males as the key marker; not formally described
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Luwala Reef population

Mylochromis sp. "Chrysogaster Line" "Luwala Reef" is the Luwala Reef population of Mylochromis sp. "Chrysogaster Line", 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 sp. "Chrysogaster Line", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Luwala Reef fish at malawi.si

About the species

Mylochromis sp. "Chrysogaster Line" is an undescribed haplochromine recorded at Luwala Reef, in southern Lake Malawi. Its trade name uses a golden-belly colour descriptor, chrysogaster from the Greek for gold and belly, for a trait reported in males of this population; the same word forms the epithet of a different, unrelated golden-bellied Lake Malawi cichlid, Naevochromis chrysogaster, and the shared descriptor should be read as a coincidence of colour language rather than a claim of relationship between the two. It has not been formally described.

Full Mylochromis sp. "Chrysogaster Line" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Mylochromis sp. "Chrysogaster Line" "Luwala Reef"
  2. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 5th ed. (Cichlid Press)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Genus record (authority for valid names; this trade name has no catalog entry)