Mylochromis sp. "Mchuse" "Nkanda"

Nkandan-KAHN-dah (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. "Mchuse" account →

Specific to Nkanda

  • 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. "Mchuse".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.5 in14 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietBenthic invertivore/micro-predator over sand and rock; genus includes piscivorous and molluscivorous congeners, but this form's specific diet is undocumented.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; expected modest (a few dozen eggs)
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical sexual dichromatism is expected (more strongly coloured males, plain silvery-brown females), but no specific colour pattern has been documented for this population.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkanda population

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

Colour reference: living Nkanda fish at malawi.si

About the species

Mylochromis sp. "Mchuse" is an undescribed Lake Malawi cichlid recorded from Magunga and Nkanda on the Tanzanian shore in the lake's far north. Unlike several of its congeners, its trade name is a bare locality tag rather than a colour or pattern descriptor, so no specific colour claim is made for it here beyond the genus-typical pattern of dichromatic haplochromine cichlids. It is recognised informally in the field and hobby literature, and no authority, year, FishBase number, or IUCN status should ever be attached to it.

Full Mylochromis sp. "Mchuse" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Mylochromis sp. "Mchuse" "Nkanda"
  2. Cichlid Room Companion — Mylochromis genus profile
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi authority)