Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Placidochromis sp. "Electra Blue"

Placidochromis sp. "Electra Blue" "Mbamba Bay"

Mbamba Bay — m-BAHM-bah 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 sp. "Electra Blue" account →

Specific to Mbamba 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 sp. "Electra Blue".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–66 ft5–20 m
DietSand-rock interface invertivore, picking small benthic prey from sand and rock; genus-typical, following the pattern of the close relative P. electra.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodera few dozen eggs (genus-typical, per P. electra)
Sexual dimorphismYesMales show vivid, largely unpatterned electric-blue breeding colour; females silvery-grey and comparatively drab.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mbamba Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Mbamba Bay fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Placidochromis sp. "Electra Blue" is an undescribed cichlid from the Tanzanian shore of northern Lake Malawi, recorded at Hongi Island, Lundo Island, and Mbamba Bay. It belongs to the same striking blue-bodied group as Placidochromis electra, the world-famous Electric Blue Hap described from Chidunga Rocks far to the south — but this Tanzanian population is geographically distinct from that type locality and has not itself been given a formal name.

Full Placidochromis sp. "Electra Blue" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis sp. "Electra Blue" "Mbamba Bay"
  2. malawi.si — Placidochromis (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority; Placidochromis electra)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Placidochromis (genus profile)