Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Tramitichromis sp. "Variabilis Likoma"

Tramitichromis sp. "Variabilis Likoma" "Likoma Island"

Likoma Island — lee-KOH-mah EYE-land (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. "Variabilis Likoma" account →

Specific to Likoma Island

  • 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. "Variabilis Likoma".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7 in18 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 dimorphismYesNot documented for this specific population; expected to follow the genus pattern of duller females and more strongly coloured territorial males.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Likoma Island population

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

Colour reference: living Likoma Island fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Tramitichromis sp. "Variabilis Likoma" is an undescribed haplochromine recorded from the waters around Likoma Island in the middle of Lake Malawi. Its trade name signals a resemblance to the formally described Tramitichromis variabilis, a southern-lake species, but the Likoma population is geographically well separated from confirmed T. variabilis records and has not been formally assigned to that species — hence the informal "sp." designation rather than a locality variant of the described name. Like all Tramitichromis it is expected to be a sand-sifting invertivore built around the genus's distinctively angled pharyngeal jaw. It carries no authority, no publication year, no FishBase entry, and no IUCN assessment.

Full Tramitichromis sp. "Variabilis Likoma" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Tramitichromis sp. "Variabilis Likoma" "Likoma Island"
  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)