Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Petrochromis macrognathus

Petrochromis macrognathus "Kibige Island"

Kibige Island — kee-BEE-geh 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 Petrochromis macrognathus account →

Specific to Kibige 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 Petrochromis macrognathus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7.9 in20 cm total length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7.8–9alkaline
Depth0–10 ft0–3 m
DietAufwuchs grazer; scrapes algal biofilm, diatoms, and associated microfauna from sunlit rock surfaces.
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder~15 eggs or more
Sexual dimorphismYesMales are larger with bolder territorial behavior; egg-spot ocelli on the anal fin are present in males and absent in females.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kibige Island population

Petrochromis macrognathus "Kibige Island" is the Kibige Island population of Petrochromis macrognathus, a geographic colour form from the Democratic Republic of the Congo coast of Lake Tanganyika in the northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Petrochromis macrognathus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Kibige Island fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Petrochromis macrognathus is a rock-grazing cichlid found only in Lake Tanganyika, where it scrapes a living off the algae-covered boulders of the shallow, wave-battered shoreline. Its name means "large jaw," and that jaw — a strongly projecting upper jaw and pronounced downturned mouth, most extreme in this species though also present in its close relative P. trewavasae — lets it shave large patches of algal film off vertical rock at a low angle. It is one of the most specialized and, in captivity, one of the most belligerent members of an already pugnacious genus.

Full Petrochromis macrognathus account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Petrochromis macrognathus "Kibige Island"
  2. FishBase — Petrochromis macrognathus (summary)
  3. Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer) — Petrochromis macrognathus
  4. GBIF — Petrochromis macrognathus Yamaoka, 1983
  5. Encyclopedia of Life — Petrochromis macrognathus
  6. Yamaoka, K. (1983). A revision of the cichlid fish genus Petrochromis from Lake Tanganyika, with description of a new species. Jap. J. Ichthyol. 30:129–141 (record via GBIF)