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

Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi" "Kande Island"

Kande Island — KAHN-deh 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 Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi" account →

Specific to Kande 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 Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size8.5 in22 cm total length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)slightly hardup to 179 ppm
Depth10–197 ft3–60 m
DietPelagic piscivore; pursues small open-water fish such as usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) and juvenile utaka, taking zooplankton more heavily when young
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismYesNot confidently documented for this form; genus-typical fresh males show a greenish-to-bluish metallic sheen, females plainer and more silvery.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kande Island population

Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi" "Kande Island" is the Kande Island population of Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi", 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. "Nkhwazi", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Kande Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi" is an undescribed pelagic predator of Lake Malawi, recorded from Kande Island in the north-central lake and Makanjila Rocks well to the south — two widely separated points that reflect the genus's roaming, open-water habits rather than a single reef territory. Its trade name borrows Nkhwazi, the Chichewa word for the African fish eagle, Malawi's national bird, an evocative field label rather than a taxonomic act. It has no formal scientific name, no describing author, and no IUCN assessment, and none of these should be invented for it.

Full Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Rhamphochromis sp. "Nkhwazi" "Kande Island"
  2. Turner, Robinson, Ngatunga, Shaw & Carvalho — Identification and biology of Diplotaxodon, Rhamphochromis and Pallidochromis (genus diagnosis and identification difficulty)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)
  4. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Fricke, Eschmeyer & Van der Laan, eds., CAS) — searched: no valid name for the undescribed "Nkhwazi" form