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

Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-head" "Domira Bay"

Domira Bay — doh-MEE-rah 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 Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-head" account →

Specific to Domira 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 Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-head".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7 in18 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth16–66 ft5–20 m
DietPresumed piscivore / ambush predator on small fish, consistent with genus habit; not confirmed by dedicated study of this population
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this form; expected several dozen eggs by analogy with similarly sized congeners
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented in detail for this form; genus-typical cryptic mottled brown/olive base pattern expected, with dichromatism likely intensifying in breeding males as in other Stigmatochromis.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Domira Bay population

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

Colour reference: living Domira Bay fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-head" is an undescribed predatory cichlid known from Domira Bay on the south-central Malawian shore, one of a number of populations informally distinguished from the genus's described species by field workers and collectors. The trade name is purely descriptive, referring to a conspicuously large, blocky head relative to the body, a trait that stands out against smaller-headed congeners at the same locality. Stigmatochromis is a genus of moderate to large ambush predators that lurk near rocky cover at the rock-sand interface and dart out at passing prey; like its relatives, this form is presumed piscivorous, though no dedicated study of this specific population has been published. It carries no scientific name, no describing author, and no Red List status.

Full Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-head" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Stigmatochromis sp. "Big-head" "Domira Bay"
  2. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost field authority on Lake Malawi cichlids)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Fricke, Eschmeyer & Van der Laan, eds., CAS) — searched: no valid name for the undescribed "Big-head" form (genus Stigmatochromis record)