Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Protomelas similis

Protomelas similis "Likoma Island"

Likoma Island — lee-KOH-mah EYE-land (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 Likoma Island

  • 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 Likoma Island population

Protomelas similis "Likoma Island" is the Likoma Island population of Protomelas similis, a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the 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 Likoma Island 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 "Likoma Island"
  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)