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

Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate" "Nkhata Bay"

Nkhata Bay — n-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 Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate" 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 Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7 in18 cm total length
Temperature75–79 °F24–26 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 339 ppm
Depth33–131 ft10–40 m
DietPiscivore, presumed genus-typical predator of small fish (small mbuna 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 Nkhata Bay population

Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate" "Nkhata Bay" is the Nkhata Bay population of Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate", a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the central part of the lake. It is the same species as Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate", 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

Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate" is an undescribed predatory cichlid recorded from Nkhata Bay on Lake Malawi's northwestern shore, distinguished in field references by a slimmer, more drawn-out body than the genus's typically compact, fusiform build. It belongs to the same small predatory genus as the widely traded electric-blue S. fryeri, but no authority, formal description, colour account or conservation status has been published for this population, and precise coordinates for the Nkhata Bay record are not available.

Full Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Sciaenochromis sp. "Elongate" "Nkhata Bay"
  2. Sciaenochromis | Cichlid Room Companion (genus profile, valid & undescribed species)
  3. malawi.si — Sciaenochromis species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  4. FishBase — Sciaenochromis ahli summary (size, depth, chemistry, IUCN)