Placidochromis turneri "Nkhata Bay"

Nkhata Bayn-KAH-tah 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 turneri account →

Specific to Nkhata 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 turneri.

CARESNOT LISTED
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depthnot recorded
DietGeneralist invertebrate forager typical of non-mbuna Placidochromis; species-specific diet not documented
BreedingMaternal mouthbroodernot documented
Sexual dimorphismYesSexual dimorphism presumed typical of the genus (males more colourful); not documented in detail for this species.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhata Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhata Bay fish at malawi.si

About the species

Placidochromis turneri is a haplochromine cichlid documented from the Nkhata Bay area on the western shore of Lake Malawi. Its epithet almost certainly honours a researcher surnamed Turner, a name closely tied to the study of Lake Malawi cichlid diversity and speciation, though the exact dedication is not confirmed here. Like its congeners it belongs to the lake's sand- and transition-zone haplochromine radiation rather than the crowded rock communities of the mbuna.

Full Placidochromis turneri account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Placidochromis turneri "Nkhata Bay"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Placidochromis turneri
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)