Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania"

Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania" "Ngwasi"

Ngwasi — n-GWAH-see (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 Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania" account →

Specific to Ngwasi

  • 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 Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth10–49 ft3–15 m
DietAlgae specialist; scrapes tough, wave-hardened algal turf from exposed rock using broad, closely packed teeth.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; larger than typical small mbuna given larger adult size
Sexual dimorphismYesTrade name implies males show a predominantly black breeding colour, one of several recurring Petrotilapia colour morphs across the lake; females plainer and paler.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Ngwasi population

Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania" "Ngwasi" is the Ngwasi population of Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania", a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Ngwasi fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania" is an undescribed rock-scraping mbuna from the Tanzanian shore of northern Lake Malawi, recorded at Lundu, Magunga, and Ngwasi. Its trade name places it among the many "nigra" Petrotilapia forms recorded at scattered localities across the lake — populations whose breeding males develop a predominantly black colour, one of several recurring male colour morphs that make Petrotilapia one of the most taxonomically tangled genera in Lake Malawi.

Full Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Petrotilapia sp. "Nigra Tanzania" "Ngwasi"
  2. malawi.si — Petrotilapia (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority; Petrotilapia polymorphism)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Petrotilapia (genus profile)