Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Xenotilapia flavipinnis

Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Crocodile Island"

Crocodile Island — croh-coh-DEE-leh 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 Xenotilapia flavipinnis account →

Specific to Crocodile 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 Xenotilapia flavipinnis.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2006
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.6 in9.2 cm standard length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH8.6–9.3alkaline
Depth3–98 ft1–30 m
DietBenthic micro-carnivore — sifts mouthfuls of sand to filter out small crustaceans, micro-invertebrates, and other meiofauna
BreedingBiparental mouthbrooder (serially monogamous)up to ~40 fry (genus-typical; brood size reported, not a precise egg count)
Sexual dimorphismYesSubtle — no reliable size or shape difference; males often show marginally stronger fin color, and mature fish are sexed by venting (the female's genital papilla is broader)
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Crocodile Island population

Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Crocodile Island" is the Crocodile Island population of Xenotilapia flavipinnis, a geographic colour form from the Zambia coast of Lake Tanganyika in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Xenotilapia flavipinnis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Crocodile Island fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Xenotilapia flavipinnis, the yellow sand cichlid, is a small, silvery ectodine endemic to Lake Tanganyika that makes a living combing the lake's sand floor for tiny invertebrates. What sets it apart from most of its sand-sifting relatives is its parenting: it is one of the rift's few biparental mouthbrooders, with both fish carrying the brood in turn and then guarding the free-swimming fry together. Peaceful toward other species but pointed in its squabbles with its own kind, it is a long-time favorite among Tanganyika specialists who can give it the open sand and clean water it demands.

Full Xenotilapia flavipinnis account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Crocodile Island"
  2. Xenotilapia flavipinnis (Yellow Sand Cichlid) — FishBase species summary
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Xenotilapia flavipinnis (species record)
  4. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — California Academy of Sciences
  5. Yanagisawa, Y. 1986. Parental care in a monogamous mouthbrooding cichlid Xenotilapia flavipinnis in Lake Tanganyika. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 33(3):249–261 (cited in Sefc 2011)
  6. Sefc, K.M. 2011. Mating and Parental Care in Lake Tanganyika's Cichlids. International Journal of Evolutionary Biology