Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Ulwile Island"Yellow Sand Cichlid
Xenotilapia flavipinnis (Bulombora, Bulu Point, Cape Chaitika, Cape Kabogo, Cape Nangu, Cape Tembwe, Chisanse, Chituta Bay, Crocodile Island, Isanga Bay, Izinga Island, Jakobsen's Beach, Kagunga, Kalambo Lodge, Kalugunga, Kantalamba, Kapembwa, Karilani Island, Kasanga, Kashenge, Katabe Bay, Katete, Katili, Katonga, Kavala Island, Kekese, Kigoma, Kilima, Kipili, Kiriza, Kombe, Lyamembe, Magara, Mahale NP, Makola, Mawimbi, Mbita Island, Mboko Island, Milingu, Mkuyu, Moliro, Mtosi, Mtotokainda Island, Mulyma, Mvuna Island, Nyanza-Lac, Nzwema, Rumonge, Sibwesa, Sumbu, Ulwile Island)
Ulwile Island — oo-LWEE-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 Ulwile 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.
The Ulwile Island population
Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Ulwile Island" is the Ulwile Island population of Xenotilapia flavipinnis, 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 Xenotilapia flavipinnis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.
Colour reference: living Ulwile 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
- tanganyika.si — Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Ulwile Island"
- Xenotilapia flavipinnis (Yellow Sand Cichlid) — FishBase species summary
- Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Xenotilapia flavipinnis (species record)
- Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — California Academy of Sciences
- 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)
- Sefc, K.M. 2011. Mating and Parental Care in Lake Tanganyika's Cichlids. International Journal of Evolutionary Biology
- IUCN Red List — Xenotilapia flavipinnis "Ulwile Island"