Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Protomelas similis

Protomelas similis "Chiofu"

Chiofu — chee-OH-foo (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 similis account →

Specific to Chiofu

  • 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 similis.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7.1 in18 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth0–56 ft0–17 m
DietPicks invertebrates & biocover from weed/sediment
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderUndocumented; genus-typical brood of a few dozen to ~100 eggs for a hap of this size
Sexual dimorphismYesMuted. Breeding males darken, intensify and become territorial; freshly caught females are recognizable by yellow pelvic fins. Outside breeding condition the sexes look much alike.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chiofu population

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

Colour reference: living Chiofu fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Protomelas similis is a silver, stripe-flanked haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi and its satellite Lake Malombe, where it makes a living few of its rock-loving relatives bother with: it lives among aquatic weed. Where most Malawi haplochromines graze biofilm off bare stone, a male Protomelas similis clears a small bare circle in a bed of Vallisneria and plucks algae directly from the plant leaves, bolting back into the foliage at the first sign of trouble. It is a modest, watchful fish rather than a showpiece, and that quiet life among the weeds is exactly what has kept it common while heavier-fished shorelines have suffered.

Full Protomelas similis account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Protomelas similis "Chiofu"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Protomelas similis (Regan 1922)
  3. FishBase — Protomelas similis (Regan, 1922)
  4. ITIS — Protomelas similis report
  5. GBIF — Protomelas similis occurrence records
  6. Regan, C.T. 1922. The Cichlid Fishes of Lake Nyassa. Proc. Zool. Soc. London (original description; CRC reference)