Sciaenochromis psammophilus "Cobwe"

CobweKOH-bweh (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 Sciaenochromis psammophilus account →

Specific to Cobwe

  • 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 Sciaenochromis psammophilus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.6 in11.6 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietPredator (small fish & fry)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderUndocumented; genus-typical, on the order of a few dozen eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesBreeding males silvery-blue with 9–11 dark vertical bars and yellow dorsal/caudal finnage; females plainer silver.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Cobwe population

Sciaenochromis psammophilus "Cobwe" is the Cobwe population of Sciaenochromis psammophilus, a geographic colour form from Lake Malawi in Lake Malawi part of the lake. It is the same species as Sciaenochromis psammophilus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Cobwe fish at malawi.si

About the species

Sciaenochromis psammophilus, the "electric blue kande," is a sand-dwelling predatory cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi and named for that very habit — psammophilus is Greek for "sand-loving." It is the close, often-confused cousin of the famous electric blue hap (Sciaenochromis fryeri): a silvery-blue male barred with dark vertical stripes and washed with yellow in the dorsal and tail, hunting small fish a hand's breadth above the open sand. Described by Ad Konings only in 1993, it remains uncommon in the hobby and is best understood as the dark-barred, yellow-finned member of an electric-blue genus that the aquarium trade has spent decades muddling together.

Full Sciaenochromis psammophilus account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Sciaenochromis psammophilus "Cobwe"
  2. FishBase — Sciaenochromis psammophilus (Electric blue kande)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Sciaenochromis psammophilus (species record)
  4. GBIF — Sciaenochromis psammophilus occurrence search
  5. Konings, A. 1993 — A revision of the genus Sciaenochromis Eccles & Trewavas, 1989 (The Cichlids Yearbook vol. 3, pp. 28–36; original description of S. psammophilus, Cichlid Press)
  6. FishBase — references used for Sciaenochromis psammophilus