Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Sciaenochromis sp. "Spilostichus Deep-water"

Sciaenochromis sp. "Spilostichus Deep-water" "Ntekete"

Ntekete — n-teh-KEH-teh (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. "Spilostichus Deep-water" account →

Specific to Ntekete

  • 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. "Spilostichus Deep-water".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7 in18 cm total length
Temperature72–81 °F22–27 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth66–230 ft20–70 m
DietPresumed active piscivore hunting small fish over open sandy or transitional bottoms at depth
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismYesNot confirmed for this form. If related to the historic 'spilostichus' lineage, breeding males would be expected to show an oblique row of dark spots and a metallic sheen; this is background, not a confirmed description.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Ntekete population

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

Colour reference: living Ntekete fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Sciaenochromis sp. "Spilostichus Deep-water" is an undescribed, deep-collected predatory haplochromine documented at Ntekete and Chiwanga in Lake Malawi. Its name carries a genuine piece of taxonomic history: "spilostichus" was originally described as Haplochromis spilostichus, later placed in Sciaenochromis, and eventually moved again to the genus Mylochromis — a species now formally known as Mylochromis spilostichus. Whether this deep-water form is the same lineage under an old placement, or an independent population that simply resembles it, has not been resolved, and no such identity is asserted here. It has no scientific name, no describing author, and no IUCN assessment.

Full Sciaenochromis sp. "Spilostichus Deep-water" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Sciaenochromis sp. "Spilostichus Deep-water" "Ntekete"
  2. Sciaenochromis | Cichlid Room Companion (genus profile, author, type species, valid & undescribed species)
  3. Konings, A. 1993 — A revision of the genus Sciaenochromis Eccles & Trewavas, 1989, including removal of S. spilostichus to Mylochromis (Cichlids Yearbook 3:28-36)
  4. IRMNG — Sciaenochromis Eccles & Trewavas, 1989 (nomenclature and spilostichus transfer history)