Otopharynx sp. "High Fin" "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. "High Fin" 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. "High Fin".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth33–98 ft10–30 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 develop a notably elevated or extended dorsal fin in breeding condition; females plainer and lower-finned. Precise pattern not formally documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhotakota population

Otopharynx sp. "High Fin" "Nkhotakota" is the Nkhotakota population of Otopharynx sp. "High Fin", 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. "High Fin", 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. "High Fin" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Nkhotakota on the central-western Malawian shore of Lake Malawi. Its trade name describes an elevated, extended dorsal fin in breeding males, a conspicuous field character that has not been tied by any published study to a particular described Otopharynx species.

Full Otopharynx sp. "High Fin" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "High Fin" "Nkhotakota"
  2. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "high fin" (Konings-based species database; Nkhotakota record)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Otopharynx (genus profile)