Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka"

Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka" "Mdoka"

Mdoka — m-DOH-kah (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. "Pleurospilus Mdoka" account →

Specific to Mdoka

  • 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. "Pleurospilus Mdoka".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size4.5 in11 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth33–131 ft10–40 m
DietPresumed piscivore hunting small fish over sandy substrate, by inference from body plan and the resemblance to S. pleurospilus
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical)not documented for this form or for S. pleurospilus; expected modest given the small adult size reported for pleurospilus
Sexual dimorphismYesNot documented for this form; by resemblance to S. pleurospilus, a plain sand-toned body with small diagnostic spots (side, supra-anal, caudal-peduncle) is expected, with dichromatism likely intensifying in breeding males.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mdoka population

Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka" "Mdoka" is the Mdoka population of Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka", a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the far northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Mdoka fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka" is an undescribed cichlid from Mdoka on the far-northern Malawian shore, named for its resemblance to the described species Stigmatochromis pleurospilus. Pleurospilus itself is known from only a handful of scientific specimens and is diagnosed by three small, subtle melanin spots along the body — a suprapectoral spot, a supra-anal spot, and a spot at the base of the tail — set against an otherwise plain, sand-camouflaged body. This Mdoka population carries the family resemblance closely enough to be flagged as allied to pleurospilus, without being formally identified as that species. It has no scientific name, no describing author, and no Red List status.

Full Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Stigmatochromis sp. "Pleurospilus Mdoka" "Mdoka"
  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 "Pleurospilus Mdoka" form (genus Stigmatochromis record)