Otopharynx sp. "Circle" "Nkhotakota"

Nkhotakotan-koh-tah-KOH-tah (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. "Circle" account →

Specific to Nkhotakota

  • 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. "Circle".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth33–82 ft10–25 m
DietPresumed sand/rock-interface invertivore, picking small crustaceans and insect larvae from the substrate; not directly documented for this form.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; modest, genus-typical
Sexual dimorphismYesTrade name implies males show a circular flank marking in breeding colour; females plainer and less conspicuously marked. Precise pattern not formally documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhotakota population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhotakota fish at malawi.si

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Circle" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Nkhotakota, on the central-western shore of Lake Malawi. Its trade name most likely describes a ring-shaped or circular marking on the flank of breeding males — a variant on the discrete melanic blotches that mark the genus generally — though the precise feature the name refers to has not been the subject of a published description.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Circle" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Circle" "Nkhotakota"
  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)