Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Tetraspilus Molariform"

Otopharynx sp. "Tetraspilus Molariform" "Chipoka"

Chipoka — chee-POH-kah (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. "Tetraspilus Molariform" account →

Specific to Chipoka

  • 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. "Tetraspilus Molariform".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.5 in14 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth33–131 ft10–40 m
DietPresumed benthic invertivore, possibly including hard-shelled prey such as molluscs given its rounded, molar-like teeth; not directly documented for this form.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; modest, genus-typical
Sexual dimorphismYesDichromatism assumed on general Malawi cichlid grounds; the specific pattern for this form is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chipoka population

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

Colour reference: living Chipoka fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Tetraspilus Molariform" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Chipoka on the central-western Malawian shore of Lake Malawi. It belongs to the informal "tetraspilus" complex, a group of deep-bodied, four-spotted Otopharynx forms that fisheries researchers recognised well before they had formal names, several of which the ichthyologist Michael Oliver has since split into described species; "Molariform" flags rounded, molar-like teeth reported for this particular population, a dental feature distinguishing it from other members of the complex.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Tetraspilus Molariform" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Tetraspilus Molariform" "Chipoka"
  2. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "tetraspilus molariform" (Konings-based species database; Chipoka record)
  3. Oliver, M.K., 2018 — Six New Species of the Cichlid Genus Otopharynx from Lake Malaŵi (splits informal "tetraspilus"-type field forms, incl. O. alpha, O. peridodeka)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)