Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

Genus:	Lichnochromis
Type locality:	Lake Malawi.
Biotope:	Sand-dwelling species occurring in rather shallow water, typically at depths of 5–15 m, in areas with scattered rocks where it forages.
Geographic distribution:	Found all around the shores of Lake Malawi.
Typical adult size:	Nearly 20 cm total length in imports, growing larger in spacious aquaria.
Sexual dimorphism:	Males are larger than females and are much more colorful, with more elongated fins.
Recommended aquarium size:	Minimum aquarium volume of 500 liters, preferably 800 liters or more.
Aquarium setup:	Large aquarium with open sandy areas and scattered rocks.
Diet:	Uses its elongated, pointed mouth to extract living organisms from crevices among rocks, inserting the snout deeply while bending the body.
Breeding:	Maternal mouth-brooder. Males select a spawning site against a rock and court females through displaying and quivering movements. Spawning lasts several hours, while egg deposition itself takes less than one hour. Eggs are collected by the female and incubated in her mouth.
Aggression:	Generally non-aggressive for a Malawi haplochromine and usually not dominant in community aquaria.
Special notes:	Despite being placed in a monotypic genus, this species shows close affinities with Mylochromis, particularly Mylochromis sp. 'lateristriga Makanjila'. No geographical variants have been documented.