Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania"

Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" "Lutara Reef"

Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" (Lutara Reef)

Lutara Reef — loo-TAH-rah 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 Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" account →

Specific to Lutara 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 Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesOtopharynx auromarginatusdescribed as Tilapia auromarginata Boulenger 1908
Scientific size5 in13 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
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 an elongated flank marking in breeding colour; females plainer and less conspicuously marked. Precise pattern not formally documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Lutara Reef population

Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" "Lutara Reef" is the Lutara Reef population of Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania", a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Lutara Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Lutara Reef, understood to lie in the Tanzanian waters of Lake Malawi, as reflected in its trade name. The name describes an elongated rather than round melanic blotch on the flank, a variation on the discrete spotted pattern that defines the genus, distinguishing this form from Otopharynx populations with more circular markings.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Elongate-spot Tanzania" "Lutara Reef"
  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)
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