Mylochromis sp. "Sphaerodon Nkhomo" "Nkhomo Reef"

Nkhomo Reefn-KOH-moh 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. "Sphaerodon Nkhomo" account →

Specific to Nkhomo 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. "Sphaerodon Nkhomo".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size8 in20 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–66 ft5–20 m
DietPresumed specialised gastropod molluscivore by resemblance to M. sphaerodon's snail-crushing pharyngeal dentition; not confirmed internally for this form
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this form; genus-typical estimate of ~20-60 eggs by analogy with M. sphaerodon
Sexual dimorphismYesNo colour account specific to this form has been published; breeding males of the described relative M. sphaerodon show blue body coloration with a yellow anal fin, offered here as an inference, not a documented fact for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhomo Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhomo Reef fish at malawi.si

About the species

Mylochromis sp. "Sphaerodon Nkhomo" is an undescribed haplochromine cichlid from Lake Malawi, recognised in the trade as a form close to the described species Mylochromis sphaerodon, the roundtooth hap — a deep-bodied, small-mouthed molluscivore whose spherical pharyngeal teeth crush snail shells. This form is recorded at Nkhomo Reef, one of several sites, alongside the confirmed populations at Chiofu Bay, Namalenje Island, and Senga Bay, where sphaerodon-type fish have been documented. It has no formal description, no describing author, and no FishBase entry.

Full Mylochromis sp. "Sphaerodon Nkhomo" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Mylochromis sp. "Sphaerodon Nkhomo" "Nkhomo Reef"
  2. FishBase — Mylochromis sphaerodon (Regan, 1922), roundtooth hap, the described species this form is compared to
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)