Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel"

Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel" "Kirondo"

Kirondo — kee-ROHN-doh (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 Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel" account →

Specific to Kirondo

  • 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 Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size11 in28 cm standard length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.8alkaline
Hardness (GH)slightly hardup to 179 ppm
Depth16–98 ft5–30 m
DietPiscivore, an ambush hunter of smaller fish, chiefly mbuna, taken from rocky reef structure
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; genus-typical for large Tyrannochromis, potentially up to a few hundred eggs, following T. macrostoma
Sexual dimorphismYesMarked size dimorphism expected as in other Tyrannochromis, with males larger than females; a full, independently published colour description is not available for this form.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kirondo population

Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel" "Kirondo" is the Kirondo population of Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel", 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 Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Kirondo fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel" is an undescribed predatory cichlid recorded from Kirondo on the far northern Tanzanian shore of Lake Malawi. The trade name links it to Tyrannochromis macrostoma, the large, big-jawed described species from which it is distinguished by proportion — collectors and Konings' field surveys note a shorter caudal peduncle than typical T. macrostoma — while stopping short of assigning it as that species' own population. Tyrannochromis are among the largest and most powerfully built haplochromines in the lake, ambush predators that hunt smaller fish off rocky reefs. It has no authority, no publication year, no FishBase number, and no IUCN assessment.

Full Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Tyrannochromis sp. "Macrostoma Short Pedicel" "Kirondo"
  2. malawi.si — Konings-based Lake Malawi cichlid species and locality database
  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)