Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo"

Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo" "Senga Bay"

Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo" (Senga Bay)

Senga Bay — SEHN-gah BAY (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. "Decorus Jumbo" account →

Specific to Senga Bay

  • 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. "Decorus Jumbo".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesOtopharynx auromarginatusdescribed as Tilapia auromarginata Boulenger 1908
Scientific size8.5 in22 cm total length
Temperature75–79 °F24–26 °C
pH7.5–8.5alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 446 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth20–66 ft6–20 m
DietPresumed visual sand-sifting insectivore, scanning sand with large eyes then biting for hidden invertebrates, following O. decorus; not directly documented for this population.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; possibly larger than genus-typical given reported adult size
Sexual dimorphismYesDichromatism assumed on general Malawi cichlid grounds; genuinely territorial, brightly coloured males rarely documented in the field even for the described species.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Senga Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Senga Bay fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Senga Bay, a popular collecting and resort locality on the central-western shore of Lake Malawi. Its trade name links it to Otopharynx decorus, a described sand-dwelling relative, and to "Jumbo," reflecting reports that this population grows to a notably larger size than the roughly 7 in typical of the described species.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo" "Senga Bay"
  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)
Add this species card to your site

Paste this into a product listing, club page or blog post. It shows this species’ size, water ranges and conservation status, kept current from the atlas, with a link to this page. Free to use; keep the link intact, as it is the attribution. How the card works.

<div data-atlas="species/otopharynx-sp-decorus-jumbo-senga-bay"><a href="https://www.aquaristatlas.com/species/otopharynx-sp-decorus-jumbo-senga-bay/">Otopharynx sp. "Decorus Jumbo" "Senga Bay" on Aquarist Atlas</a></div>
<script src="https://www.aquaristatlas.com/embed/v1/card.js" async referrerpolicy="no-referrer"></script>