Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Sciaenochromis sp. "Deep"

Sciaenochromis sp. "Deep" "Youngs Bay"

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 sp. "Deep" account →

Specific to Youngs 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 Sciaenochromis sp. "Deep".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7 in18 cm total length
Temperature73–79 °F23–26 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 339 ppm
Depth98–328 ft30–100 m
DietPiscivore, presumed genus-typical predator of small fish (juvenile mbuna, utaka and other small cichlids)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from genus/flock)not documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNot documented for this form; described congeners show strong male breeding colour against cryptic barred females.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Youngs Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Youngs Bay fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Sciaenochromis sp. "Deep" is an undescribed predatory cichlid recorded from Youngs Bay on Lake Malawi, one of roughly a dozen undescribed field forms recognised alongside the genus's four formally described species. The Cichlid Room Companion lists it by name among Sciaenochromis's known unassigned populations, distinguished by occupying deeper water than the shallow-reef norm of well-known congeners such as the electric-blue S. fryeri. No authority, description or conservation status attaches to it, and precise coordinates for this Youngs Bay record are not available.

Full Sciaenochromis sp. "Deep" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Sciaenochromis sp. "Deep" "Youngs Bay"
  2. Sciaenochromis | Cichlid Room Companion (genus profile, valid & undescribed species incl. S. sp. 'deep')
  3. malawi.si — Sciaenochromis species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  4. Konings, A. 1993. A revision of the genus Sciaenochromis Eccles & Trewavas, 1989 (Cichlids Yearbook 3:28–36)