Stigmatochromis modestus "Mbenji Island"
Mbenji Island — m-BEHN-jee EYE-land (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 modestus account →Specific to Mbenji Island
- 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 modestus.
The Mbenji Island population
Stigmatochromis modestus "Mbenji Island" is the Mbenji Island population of Stigmatochromis modestus, 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 modestus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Mbenji Island fish at malawi.si →
About the species
Stigmatochromis modestus is a predatory Lake Malawi cichlid documented from a spread of localities running most of the length of the lake, from Cape Kaiser in the north to Mbenji Island in the south. Its species name, Latin for 'modest' or 'plain,' suggests a comparatively subdued colour pattern next to some of its more flamboyant relatives. It belongs to Stigmatochromis, a genus of elongated, mottled ambush predators related to Nimbochromis and Tyrannochromis, whose name references the marked or spotted patterning many of its members carry as camouflage.
Full Stigmatochromis modestus account →