Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Stigmatochromis melanchros

Stigmatochromis melanchros "Chiofu"

Chiofu — chee-OH-foo (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 Stigmatochromis melanchros account →

Specific to Chiofu

  • 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 Stigmatochromis melanchros.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2018
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.3 in16.1 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Depth49–98 ft15–30 m
DietPiscivore; ambush predator
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooderNot formally documented; estimated 20–80+ eggs based on congener-class data (FLAGGED: unpublished for this species)
Sexual dimorphismYesBreeding males turn deep blue-black overall; females are silvery with 3 distinct lateral spots, pale orange scale highlights, and small dorsal-fin markings.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Chiofu population

Stigmatochromis melanchros "Chiofu" is the Chiofu population of Stigmatochromis melanchros, 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 Stigmatochromis melanchros, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Chiofu fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Stigmatochromis melanchros is a large, piscivorous haplochromine cichlid endemic to the southern basin of Lake Malawi, described in 2011 from specimens collected at Mazinzi Reef. Breeding males are among the most dramatically coloured fish in the lake — their entire body turns a deep blue-black, a transformation that gave the species its name — while their hunting strategy, hovering motionless above the bottom before a sudden downward strike, sets them apart from most of the lake's hap community. It is a specialist predator in a genus of specialists, and its intermediary-zone habitat makes it one of the more accessible members of a guild that most Malawi hobbyists know mainly by reputation.

Full Stigmatochromis melanchros account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Stigmatochromis melanchros "Chiofu"
  2. Stauffer, J.R. Jr., Cleaver-Yoder, R.M. & Konings, A.F. (2011). Two new species of Stigmatochromis (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Africa. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 124(3):212-222
  3. FishBase — Stigmatochromis melanchros (Stauffer, Cleaver-Yoder & Konings, 2011)
  4. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Stigmatochromis melanchros (species record, spid 71973)
  5. malawi.si — Stigmatochromis melanchros 'Mazinzi Reef' (type locality, habitat, behaviour, aquarium)
  6. malawi.si — Mazinzi Reef location page (GPS coordinates: -12.06056, 34.59318)