Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta"

Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta" "Chizumulu Island"

Chizumulu Island — chee-zoo-MOO-loo 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 Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta" account →

Specific to Chizumulu 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 Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size9.5 in24 cm total length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–49 ft5–15 m
DietPresumed herbivore/detritivore grazing phytoplankton and fine material over sand, following O. auromarginatus; not directly studied for this population.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismYesDichromatism assumed on general Malawi cichlid grounds; the specific pattern at Chizumulu Island is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chizumulu Island population

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

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

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta" is an undescribed cichlid recorded from Chizumulu Island in the northern-central part of Lake Malawi. Its trade name links it to Otopharynx auromarginatus, the golden-margined hap and type species of the genus — a large, gentle sand-grazer — and to Jakuta, the specific stretch of the island's shoreline where this form has been collected.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Auromarginatus Jakuta" "Chizumulu Island"
  2. malawi.si — Otopharynx (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Otopharynx (genus profile)