Rhamphochromis sp. "Grey" "Nkhata Bay"

Nkhata Bayn-KAH-tah BAY (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 Rhamphochromis sp. "Grey" account →

Specific to Nkhata Bay

  • 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 Rhamphochromis sp. "Grey".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size10 in25 cm total length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)slightly hardup to 179 ppm
Depth7–197 ft2–60 m
DietPelagic piscivore (small open-water fish), genus-typical
BreedingPresumed maternal mouthbrooder (genus-typical)Not documented for this population
Sexual dimorphismYesTrade name implies a comparatively plain grey colouration rather than the bright orange-finned nuptial dress documented in the congener R. esox; not independently confirmed for this population.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhata Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhata Bay fish at malawi.si

About the species

Rhamphochromis sp. "Grey" is an undescribed, pike-like open-water cichlid recorded off Nkhata Bay on the north-central Malawian shore of Lake Malawi, one of the few points on the lake where genuinely deep water lies close to the coast. Its trade name is a plain colour descriptor rather than a reference to any locality feature. It has no describing author, no FishBase page and no IUCN assessment, and — like every Rhamphochromis — it belongs to a genus that field workers themselves find difficult to sort cleanly into species.

Full Rhamphochromis sp. "Grey" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Rhamphochromis sp. "Grey" "Nkhata Bay"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — genus Rhamphochromis (authority for genus and any valid names)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)