Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Boadzulu"

Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Boadzulu" "Boadzulu Island"

Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Boadzulu" (Boadzulu Island)

Boadzulu Island — boh-ah-DZOO-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. "Heterodon Boadzulu" account →

Specific to Boadzulu 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. "Heterodon Boadzulu".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesOtopharynx auromarginatusdescribed as Tilapia auromarginata Boulenger 1908
Scientific size6.5 in17 cm total length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.4–8.4alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 536 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth33–66 ft10–20 m
DietPresumed opportunistic benthic feeder on invertebrates, organic particles and detritus stirred from sediment, following O. heterodon; not directly documented for this population.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; O. heterodon reported at ~20-60 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesFollowing O. heterodon: dominant males metallic royal blue with darker bars, yellow chest and dark eye-stripe; females and juveniles cryptic sandy-silver with three black flank blotches. Not directly documented for this population.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Boadzulu Island population

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

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

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Boadzulu" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Boadzulu Island, in the South East Arm of Lake Malawi. Its trade name links it to Otopharynx heterodon, the "royal blue hap" — a described deep-water relative whose own identity the IUCN itself flags as potentially masking more than one species — collected here at an island within that species' broader documented range.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Boadzulu" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Boadzulu" "Boadzulu 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)
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