Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Gallireya" "Gallireya Reef"

Gallireya Reefgah-lee-REH-yah 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. "Mollis Gallireya" account →

Specific to Gallireya 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. "Mollis Gallireya".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.5 in16 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–66 ft5–20 m
DietBenthic invertivore, foraging over sand and rubble near reef structure (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 account specific to this form has been published; genus-typical pattern of drab females and more strongly coloured breeding males is expected but not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Gallireya Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Gallireya Reef fish at malawi.si

About the species

Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Gallireya" is an undescribed haplochromine cichlid from Lake Malawi, recognised in the trade as a form close to the described species Mylochromis mollis. It is recorded here from Gallireya Reef, on the north-central-western shore, one of several localities where mollis-type fish have been documented alongside the confirmed populations at Thumbi West Island and Chimwalani Reef further south. It has no formal description, no describing author, and no FishBase entry.

Full Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Gallireya" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Gallireya" "Gallireya Reef"
  2. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; genus Mylochromis)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — online database (authority for valid fish names; genus Mylochromis, Regan 1920)