Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Protomelas krampus

Protomelas krampus "Mdoka"

Mdoka — m-DOH-kah (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 Protomelas krampus account →

Specific to Mdoka

  • 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 Protomelas krampus.

IUCNNOT EVALUATED
NEnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7.1 in18.1 cm standard length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth—not recorded
DietPaedophage — specialist predator on the eggs and larvae of other cichlids, taken by ramming mouthbrooding females from above
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from genus and Malawi-hap flock; not documented for this species)Unrecorded for this species
Sexual dimorphismNot documentedNot detailed in the original description; Malawi haps are typically dimorphic in breeding coloration.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mdoka population

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

Colour reference: living Mdoka fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Protomelas krampus is a paedophagous cichlid described in 2020 from Lake Malawi, named for the horned folklore demon Krampus who carries off naughty children — a nod to the way this fish snatches eggs and larvae from brooding females. It rams mouthbrooding cichlids on the snout from above, jolting them into releasing part of their clutch, which it then grabs with its strongly upturned mouth. It is the only single-inner-tooth-row member of an otherwise two-rowed genus, and one of a small guild of Malawi specialists that make their living stealing other fishes' young.

Full Protomelas krampus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Protomelas krampus "Mdoka"
  2. Dierickx, K. & Snoeks, J. 2020 — Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 672:1–18 (original description)
  3. European Journal of Taxonomy — Protomelas krampus (open-access article landing page; abstract, distribution, diagnosis)
  4. FishBase — Protomelas krampus Dierickx & Snoeks, 2020 (size, counts, diagnosis, biology)
  5. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Protomelas krampus (valid name, authorship)
  6. Eccles, D.H. & Trewavas, E. 1989 — Malawian Cichlid Fishes: the Classification of some Haplochromine Genera (basis of genus Protomelas)