Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Spots"

Otopharynx sp. "Spots" "Sani"

Otopharynx sp. "Spots" (Chia, Nkhomo Reef, Sani)

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. "Spots" account →

Specific to Sani

  • 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. "Spots".

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
Depth33–98 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 show a spotted flank pattern in breeding colour; females plainer and less conspicuously marked. Precise pattern not formally documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Sani population

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

Colour reference: living Sani fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Spots" is an undescribed cichlid from the south-western part of Lake Malawi, recorded at Chia, Nkhomo Reef, and Sani, near Senga Bay. Its trade name describes a spotted pattern on the flanks of breeding males, a feature echoed in the species names of several described Otopharynx — such as O. tetraspilus, the "four-spot" hap — though the precise arrangement of spots in this particular form has not been the subject of a published description.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Spots" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Spots" "Sani"
  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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