Tramitichromis lituris "Mdoka"

Mdokam-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 Tramitichromis lituris 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 Tramitichromis lituris.

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth10–66 ft3–20 m
DietSand-sifting invertivore (genus-typical; not species-confirmed)
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical); males build sand bowers as courtship/spawning sitesnot documented for this species
Sexual dimorphismYesGenus-typical expectation of more strongly coloured breeding males vs. plainer, silvery females; not confirmed species-specifically.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mdoka population

Tramitichromis lituris "Mdoka" is the Mdoka population of Tramitichromis lituris, 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 Tramitichromis lituris, 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

Tramitichromis lituris is a sand-dwelling haplochromine of Lake Malawi, part of a genus whose species build and defend distinctive sand-castle bowers as spawning sites — one of the more visually striking breeding displays anywhere in the lake's cichlid radiation. It is documented near Mdoka on the northern Malawian shore, and reported more broadly from Tanzanian waters as well, suggesting a distribution that spans both the western and eastern sides of the lake's northern basin.

Full Tramitichromis lituris account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Tramitichromis lituris "Mdoka"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Species search (California Academy of Sciences; authority for valid names)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press)