Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-eye"

Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-eye" "Nkhotakota"

Nkhotakota — n-koh-tah-KOH-tah (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 sp. "Big-eye" account →

Specific to Nkhotakota

  • 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 sp. "Big-eye".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size8 in20 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietPiscivore; presumed ambush predator of small mbuna and other small fish, genus-typical (per S. modestus)
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (inferred from genus/flock)not documented for this form; expected several dozen eggs given the genus's moderate-to-large adult size
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNot documented for this form beyond the enlarged eyes that name it; genus-typical dichromatism intensifying in breeding males is expected but unconfirmed.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Nkhotakota population

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

Colour reference: living Nkhotakota fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-eye" is an undescribed predatory Lake Malawi cichlid recorded from Nkhotakota on the lake's central-western shore, distinguished by conspicuously enlarged eyes relative to its congeners — a trait often linked in cichlids to hunting in dim or low-light conditions. It belongs to Stigmatochromis, a genus of elongated, mottled ambush predators related to Nimbochromis and Tyrannochromis. No authority, formal description or conservation status attaches to it.

Full Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-eye" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-eye" "Nkhotakota"
  2. malawi.si — Stigmatochromis species and locality-form database (Konings-based; distribution, biotope)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Stigmatochromis genus and species records (standing authority for valid cichlid names)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost field authority on Lake Malawi predatory haplochromines)