Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde"

Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde" "Makonde"

Makonde — mah-KOHN-deh (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 Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde" account →

Specific to Makonde

  • 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 Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.5 in9.5 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth10–49 ft3–15 m
DietAlgae grazer (aufwuchs) of narrow rock crevices, elongatus-complex typical pattern (not directly documented for this population)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from complex/flock)not documented for this form; presumed modest, genus/complex-typical
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNo sexual dimorphism documented for this specific population.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Makonde population

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

Colour reference: living Makonde fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde" is an undescribed mbuna cichlid recorded from Makonde, Tanzania, and grouped under the "elongatus" trade tag used across several Lake Malawi mbuna genera for elongate-bodied, vertically barred rock cichlids. Field and hobby references catalogue this population under Pseudotropheus, even though the formally described Pseudotropheus elongatus and its closest relatives were reassigned to the newly erected genus Chindongo in a 2016 taxonomic revision — a case of the trade name lagging the current science. It has never been given a scientific name; no authority, IUCN status, or FishBase entry should be attached to it.

Full Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Makonde" "Makonde"
  2. Cichlid Room Companion — genus Pseudotropheus
  3. Li, Konings & Stauffer 2016 — Taxonomic revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Zootaxa; erection of genus Chindongo)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)