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

Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior" "Mandalawi Reef"

Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior" (Mandalawi Reef)

Mandalawi Reef — mahn-dah-LAH-wee REEF (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 Superior" account →

Specific to Mandalawi Reef

  • 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 Superior".

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 446 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth16–82 ft5–25 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 reported to show a particularly saturated, largely unpatterned blue breeding colour; females expected plainer and greyer, following the genus pattern.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mandalawi Reef population

Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior" "Mandalawi Reef" is the Mandalawi Reef population of Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior", 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 Superior", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Mandalawi Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior" is an undescribed blue haplochromine recorded from Mandalawi Reef, a submerged offshore structure in Lake Malawi. The trade qualifier "Superior" flags this population as a particularly well-coloured example of the electra-type group centred on the described Placidochromis electra, though the form itself has never been formally described.

Full Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis sp. "Electra Superior" "Mandalawi Reef"
  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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