Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Placidochromis fuscus

Placidochromis fuscus "Msaka"

Msaka — m-SAH-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 Placidochromis fuscus account →

Specific to Msaka

  • 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 Placidochromis fuscus.

IUCNDATA DEFICIENT · 2018
DDnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.1 in7.9 cm standard length
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth285–292 ft87–89 m
DietPresumed benthic invertivore (no stomach-content data; trophic level ~3.3 estimated; well-developed bicuspid outer teeth)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from the Malawi haplochromine flock; not documented for this species)Unrecorded for this species
Sexual dimorphismYesMature males develop a dark melanin pattern (the basis of the name 'fuscus'); fuller breeding coloration is otherwise undocumented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Msaka population

Placidochromis fuscus "Msaka" is the Msaka population of Placidochromis fuscus, a geographic colour form from Lake Malawi in Lake Malawi part of the lake. It is the same species as Placidochromis fuscus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Msaka fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Placidochromis fuscus is a small, deep-water haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, described by Mark Hanssens in 2004 and known only from the type series collected off Msaka in the south of the lake at depths of 87 to 89 metres. Its name — Latin for 'dark brown' — refers to the dark melanin pattern that develops in mature males. Living well below diving and ornamental-collecting depth, and known from only a single locality, it is one of the more obscure members of an already poorly known group of deep-living Placidochromis, and is essentially absent from the aquarium hobby.

Full Placidochromis fuscus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis fuscus "Msaka"
  2. FishBase — Placidochromis fuscus Hanssens, 2004 (SpecCode 62397; size, depth, distribution, diagnosis, IUCN, trophic level)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Placidochromis fuscus (species record; authorship, type locality, valid-name status)
  4. Hanssens, M. 2004 — The deep-water Placidochromis species, pp. 104–197. In: Snoeks, J. (ed.) The Cichlid Diversity of Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa: Identification, Distribution and Taxonomy. Cichlid Press, El Paso (original description)
  5. Catalog of Fishes — genus Placidochromis Trewavas, 1935 (genus record)
  6. Konings, A. 2016 — Lake Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 5th ed. Cichlid Press, El Paso (genus context and lake habitat)