Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper"

Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper" "Chembe Beach"

Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper" (Chembe Beach)

Chembe Beach — CHEHM-beh BEECH (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 sp. "Blue-head Piper" account →

Specific to Chembe Beach

  • 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 sp. "Blue-head Piper".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesPlacidochromis longimanusdescribed as Haplochromis longimanus Trewavas 1935
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 357 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth16–66 ft5–20 m
DietPresumed invertivore, picking small benthic prey from sand and rock; genus-typical for Placidochromis, not directly documented for this form.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodera few dozen eggs (genus-typical estimate; not documented for this form)
Sexual dimorphismYesMales reported to show blue head colouration in breeding dress; full pattern and female colouration not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chembe Beach population

Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper" "Chembe Beach" is the Chembe Beach population of Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper", 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 sp. "Blue-head Piper", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Chembe Beach fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper" is an undescribed haplochromine recorded from Chembe Beach in the southern basin of Lake Malawi, near Cape Maclear. Its trade name points to a blue head colour in males; the second half of the name, "Piper," is a collector's qualifier of unconfirmed origin. The form has not been formally described and is not confidently linked in the literature available here to any single named Placidochromis species.

Full Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis sp. "Blue-head Piper" "Chembe Beach"
  2. malawi.si — Placidochromis (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat, 5th ed. (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Placidochromis (genus profile)
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