Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Tropheus polli

Tropheus polli "Miyako Point"

Tropheus polli (Kalugunga, Karilani Island, Kasongola, Katumbi Point, Kekese, Luagala Point, Lumbye Bay, Lyamembe, Mabilibili, Mahale Mountains NP, Miyako Point, Mkangazi, Nkwasi Point, Pasagulu Point, Sibwesa)

Miyako Point — mee-YAH-koh POYNT (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 Tropheus polli account →

Specific to Miyako Point

  • 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 Tropheus polli.

IUCNNOT EVALUATED
NEnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6.5 in17 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.8–9alkaline
Depth3–49 ft1–15 m
Dietherbivore — grazes algal aufwuchs from rock surfaces
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodersmall, ~5–20 large eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesweak; venting needed to sex reliably
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Miyako Point population

Tropheus polli "Miyako Point" is the Miyako Point population of Tropheus polli, a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Tanganyika in the north-central part of the lake. It is the same species as Tropheus polli, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Miyako Point fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Tropheus polli is a rock-grazing cichlid endemic to a single stretch of Lake Tanganyika's central-eastern, Tanzanian shore, and one of the largest members of a genus better known for its many color races. It is also one of the more contested: some authorities treat it as a valid species, while Ad Konings folds the eastern populations into the older Tropheus annectens. Whatever name wins, this is a sedentary, algae-scraping reef fish that almost never leaves its few square meters of rock, and a notoriously demanding one in the aquarium.

Full Tropheus polli account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Tropheus polli 'Miyako Point'
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes - Axelrod 1977 reference (ref. 17764)
  3. FishBase: Tropheus polli summary
  4. FishBase: Tropheus polli original-description bibliography (type locality)
  5. FishBase: Tropheus polli territory list
  6. Konings (2013): New information on Tropheus annectens (anal-fin spine diagnosis, type locality)