Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Xenotilapia flavipinnis

Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Milingu"

Milingu — mee-LEEN-goo (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 Milingu

  • 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 Milingu population

Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Milingu" is the Milingu population of Xenotilapia flavipinnis, a geographic colour form from Lake Tanganyika in Lake Tanganyika 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 Milingu 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 "Milingu"
  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