Placidochromis johnstoni "Songwe Hill"
Placidochromis johnstoni (Cobwe, Likoma Island, Mbamba Bay, Metangula, Monkey Bay, Songwe Hill)
Songwe Hill — SOHN-gweh HIL (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 johnstoni account →Specific to Songwe Hill
- 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 johnstoni.
The Songwe Hill population
Placidochromis johnstoni "Songwe Hill" is the Songwe Hill population of Placidochromis johnstoni, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Placidochromis johnstoni, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Songwe Hill fish at malawi.si →
About the species
Placidochromis johnstoni is a widespread, sandy-bottom haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, where it makes a modest living as a small-group forager picking invertebrates and tiny fish from the sediment. It is one of the most broadly distributed members of its genus, found lake-wide and downstream into the upper Shire River, and in the trade it still travels under its old name 'Haplochromis johnstoni.' Its quietest trick is also its most interesting: in a shoal of its own kind only a single male turns on full breeding color, so a tank of them can look drab until the social order sorts itself out.
Full Placidochromis johnstoni account →Sources
- malawi.si — Placidochromis johnstoni "Songwe Hill"
- FishBase — Placidochromis johnstoni summary
- Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (CAS) — Haplochromis sexfasciatus, synonym of Placidochromis johnstoni
- Identification of the Cichlid Fishes of Lake Malawi/Nyasa, Part 1: Cyrtocarina (benthic/'hap' sub-radiation)
- GBIF — occurrence dataset including Placidochromis johnstoni (Günther, 1894)
- FishBase — Placidochromis johnstoni point-data occurrences (GBIF/MRAC)
- IUCN Red List — Placidochromis johnstoni "Songwe Hill"