Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Likoma"

Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Likoma" "Maingano Island"

Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Likoma" (Likoma Island, Maingano Island)

Maingano Island — mah-een-GAH-noh EYE-land (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 Likoma" account →

Specific to Maingano Island

  • 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 Likoma".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesMylochromis lateristrigadescribed as Chromis lateristriga Günther 1864
Scientific size5.5 in14 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 446 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth10–82 ft3–25 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 verified colour pattern has been documented specifically for this population.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Maingano Island population

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

Colour reference: living Maingano Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Likoma" is an undescribed Lake Malawi cichlid recorded from Likoma Island and neighbouring Maingano Island in the open eastern-central part of the lake. Its trade name pairs a Latin descriptive term, "mollis" (soft), with the Likoma collection point, though the precise significance of that descriptor for this particular population is not established in accessible references. It is recognised informally in the aquarium and field literature, and no authority, year, FishBase number, or IUCN status should ever be attached to it.

Full Mylochromis sp. "Mollis Likoma" account →

Sources

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