Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Rhamphochromis sp. "Maldeco"

Rhamphochromis sp. "Maldeco" "South East Arm"

Rhamphochromis sp. "Maldeco" (South East Arm)

South East Arm — SOWTH EEST ARM (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. "Maldeco" account →

Specific to South East Arm

  • 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. "Maldeco".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesRhamphochromis longicepsdescribed as Hemichromis longiceps Günther 1864
Scientific size10 in25 cm total length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 446 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth16–328 ft5–100 m
DietPelagic piscivore of small open-water fish, chiefly usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) and juvenile utaka (genus-typical Rhamphochromis)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from genus/flock)not documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNot documented for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The South East Arm population

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

Colour reference: living South East Arm fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Rhamphochromis sp. "Maldeco" is an undescribed pike-like predatory cichlid recorded from the South East Arm of Lake Malawi, one of several unassigned Rhamphochromis forms field references distinguish there. Its trade name most plausibly nods to Maldeco Fisheries, a commercial trawling operation long active in that basin whose bycatch has historically been a source of unlabelled 'assorted hap' material for the aquarium trade. Like its congeners it carries the genus's elongate, torpedo-shaped body and forward-projecting beak-like jaw; no authority, formal description or conservation status attaches to it.

Full Rhamphochromis sp. "Maldeco" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Rhamphochromis sp. "Maldeco" "South East Arm"
  2. malawi.si — Rhamphochromis species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  3. Turner, Robinson, Ngatunga, Shaw & Carvalho — Identification & Biology of Diplotaxodon, Rhamphochromis and Pallidochromis
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)
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