Placidochromis polli "Domira Bay"

Domira Baydoh-MEE-rah BAY (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 polli account →

Specific to Domira Bay

  • 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 polli.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietSand/sediment invertivore (genus-typical; not species-confirmed)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this species
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical expectation of more strongly coloured breeding males vs. plainer females; not confirmed species-specifically.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Domira Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Domira Bay fish at malawi.si

About the species

Placidochromis polli is a sand-dwelling haplochromine of Lake Malawi, one of several species in a genus whose name — "placid" cichlid — reflects the calm, unhurried foraging style shared across the group compared with the excitable mbuna. Its species epithet honours a fish taxonomist surnamed Poll, a patronym typical of mid-twentieth-century ichthyology. It is documented from Domira Bay on the west-central shore and Monkey Bay in the south, two localities that together suggest a fairly wide distribution along the Malawian coastline rather than a single-site endemic.

Full Placidochromis polli account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis polli "Domira Bay"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Species search (California Academy of Sciences; authority for valid names)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)