Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Tramitichromis sp. "Orange Top"

Tramitichromis sp. "Orange Top" "Lumbila"

Lumbila — loom-BEE-lah (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. "Orange Top" account →

Specific to Lumbila

  • 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. "Orange Top".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.5 in16 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth7–49 ft2–15 m
DietSand-sifting invertivore, filtering insect larvae and soft invertebrates from sediment through the gill rakers
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; expected modest, a few dozen eggs, by analogy with similarly sized Tramitichromis
Sexual dimorphismYesMales develop an orange wash across the dorsal body and fin; females and non-breeding males are expected to be plainer, following the genus pattern.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Lumbila population

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

Colour reference: living Lumbila fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Tramitichromis sp. "Orange Top" is an undescribed sand-dwelling haplochromine recorded from Lumbila on the Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi, at the northern end of the genus's known range. Its trade name refers to an orange cast across the upper body or dorsal fin of breeding males, a feature that separates it by eye from plainer congeners once colour is fully developed. Like all Tramitichromis it is a sand-sifting invertivore built around a distinctively angled pharyngeal jaw. It has never been formally described, so it carries no authority, no publication year, no FishBase entry, and no IUCN assessment.

Full Tramitichromis sp. "Orange Top" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Tramitichromis sp. "Orange Top" "Lumbila"
  2. malawi.si — Konings-based Lake Malawi cichlid species and locality database (Tramitichromis)
  3. Cichlid Room Companion — Malawi cichlid genus and undescribed-form references (Ad Konings, curator)
  4. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)