Mylochromis sp. "Melanonotus Deep" "Kaporo"

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. "Melanonotus Deep" account →

Specific to Kaporo

  • 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. "Melanonotus Deep".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.5 in16 cm total length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth66–131 ft20–40 m
DietBenthic invertivore, foraging over sand and mixed substrate (genus-typical; not directly documented for this form)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this form; genus-typical, a few dozen eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesNo colour description specific to this form has been published beyond its resemblance to M. melanonotus's dark dorsal stripe pattern; not fabricated here pending a documented account.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kaporo population

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

Colour reference: living Kaporo fish at malawi.si

About the species

Mylochromis sp. "Melanonotus Deep" is an undescribed haplochromine cichlid from northern Lake Malawi, recorded at Kaporo near the Tanzanian border, and named for its resemblance to the described species Mylochromis melanonotus combined with a deeper habitat than that species typically occupies. This is a naming convention used across several Malawi genera for populations that look like an established species but turn up at greater depth — it is not a claim that the two are the same population. It has no formal description, no describing author, and no FishBase entry.

Full Mylochromis sp. "Melanonotus Deep" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Mylochromis sp. "Melanonotus Deep" "Kaporo"
  2. FishBase — Mylochromis melanonotus species summary
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)