Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Petrochromis trewavasae

Petrochromis trewavasae "Chimba"

Chimba — CHEEM-bah (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 trewavasae account →

Specific to Chimba

  • 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 trewavasae.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7.9 in20 cm total length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7.5–8.8alkaline
Depth3–16 ft1–5 m
DietAlgae grazer; scrapes epilithic aufwuchs (filamentous algae, diatoms, associated micro-organisms) from rock surfaces using thick, tricuspid-toothed lips
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooderSmall broods; approximately 11 fry per spawn recorded in captivity
Sexual dimorphismYesMales larger (to ~20 cm) with elongated dorsal and anal fin filaments; females smaller with pale or whitish band along dorsal and anal fins
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chimba population

Petrochromis trewavasae "Chimba" is the Chimba population of Petrochromis trewavasae, a geographic colour form from the Zambia coast of Lake Tanganyika in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Petrochromis trewavasae, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Chimba fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Petrochromis trewavasae, the threadfin cichlid, is a rock-grazing cichlid endemic to the southwestern corner of Lake Tanganyika, where it spends its days pressing thick, tooth-studded lips against algae-covered boulders and combing off the film of diatoms and filamentous algae that coats them. Named for the British ichthyologist Ethelwynn Trewavas, it is recognizable by the trailing filaments on its dorsal fin that give the species its common name. Field studies rank it among the most highly specialized of the lake's algae-scrapers, and that specialization carries straight into the aquarium, where its demanding diet and ferocious intolerance of its own kind make it one of the harder Tanganyikans to keep well.

Full Petrochromis trewavasae account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Petrochromis trewavasae "Chimba"
  2. Petrochromis trewavasae (Threadfin cichlid) — FishBase species summary
  3. Petrochromis trewavasae — FishBase Field Guide (size, distribution, IUCN line)
  4. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — California Academy of Sciences (valid name, authority)
  5. Petrochromis trewavasae — GBIF taxon page
  6. The ETYFish Project — etymology of Petrochromis trewavasae (eponymy: Ethelwynn Trewavas)