Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Pseudotropheus sp. "Perspicax Tanzania"

Pseudotropheus sp. "Perspicax Tanzania" "Undu Reef"

Undu Reef — OON-doo REEF (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. "Perspicax Tanzania" account →

Specific to Undu Reef

  • 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. "Perspicax Tanzania".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.5 in9 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth10–66 ft3–20 m
DietAlgae grazer, scraping aufwuchs from rock surfaces using comb-like teeth
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; expected modest, a few dozen eggs, by analogy with similarly sized Pseudotropheus
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical dichromatism expected (brighter territorial males, plainer females); no independently published colour description specific to this Tanzanian population is available.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Undu Reef population

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

Colour reference: living Undu Reef fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Pseudotropheus sp. "Perspicax Tanzania" is an undescribed mbuna recorded from the Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi and nearby islands. Its trade name echoes Pseudotropheus perspicax Trewavas, 1935, a formally described species from the lake, but Tanzanian-shore populations show enough difference from the nominal form that collectors and hobbyists keep them informally distinct pending a proper revision of the species complex. It is a typical rock-dwelling mbuna, recognisable by the genus's blunt head and algae-grazing habits. No authority, publication year, FishBase number, or IUCN status should be attached to this trade form.

Full Pseudotropheus sp. "Perspicax Tanzania" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Pseudotropheus sp. "Perspicax Tanzania" "Undu Reef"
  2. malawi.si — Konings-based Lake Malawi cichlid species and locality database
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Malawi cichlid genus and undescribed-form references (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)