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

Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Likoma" "Likoma Island"

Likoma Island — lee-KOH-mah 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 Likoma" account →

Specific to Likoma 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 Likoma".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth66–164 ft20–50 m
DietPresumed benthic invertivore picking prey — likely molluscs and insect larvae — from soft, deep-lake sediment using an elongated snout, following the pattern of its close relative O. heterodon.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismYesDichromatism assumed on general Malawi cichlid grounds; the specific pattern for this form is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Likoma Island population

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

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

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Likoma" is an undescribed deep-water cichlid recorded off Likoma Island, the Malawian island that sits well out into the lake, closer to the Mozambican shore than to mainland Malawi. Its trade name links it to Otopharynx heterodon, a formally described deep-water relative named for its unusual dentition, and to the elongated snout the two fish share — an adaptation for picking prey from soft, sediment-covered substrate rather than grazing rock or open sand.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Heterodon Likoma" account →

Sources

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