Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow"

Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow" "Senga Bay"

Senga Bay — SEHN-gah 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 Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow" account →

Specific to Senga 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 Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow".

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 short, robust lower gill rakers sieve heavier sand from lighter invertebrate/algal food
Breedingmaternal mouthbrooder (presumed, genus-typical); males build sand bowers as courtship/spawning sitesnot documented for this form
Sexual dimorphismYesTrade name flags a yellow tone in this population, most likely in breeding males, distinguishing it from other T. lituris-resembling forms; not documented in a formal published description. Females presumed plainer and silvery, per genus pattern.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Senga Bay population

Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow" "Senga Bay" is the Senga Bay population of Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow", a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

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

About the species

Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow" is an undescribed sand-dwelling cichlid recorded at Senga Bay in central Lake Malawi, named for its resemblance to the described species Tramitichromis lituris combined with a yellow colour element that distinguishes this population's appearance in the field. As in the rest of the genus, males are expected to build and defend excavated sand bowers as courtship and spawning sites. It has no formal description, no describing author, and no Red List status.

Full Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Tramitichromis sp. "Lituris Yellow" "Senga 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 "Lituris Yellow" form (genus Tramitichromis record)