Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

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Maylandia chrysomallos 'Gome'<br><font color=gray>Metriaclima chrysomallos 'Gome'</font>

Genus:	Maylandia
Type locality:	Mumbo Island, Lake Malawi, Malawi.
Biotope:	Intermediate habitat where piles of rocks are scattered over sandy bottom. It feeds on rocky substrate and rarely moves into deeper, purely sandy areas, occurring mainly from about 3 to 15 m.
Geographic distribution:	Endemic to Lake Malawi. Recorded from a small bay along the southernmost shore of Mumbo Island and along the eastern shoreline between Meponda (Mozambique) and Makanjila Point (Malawi).
Typical adult size:	Adult males reach up to about 10–11 cm total length in the wild, with females typically 1–2 cm smaller. In aquaria, males are estimated to reach up to about 15 cm.
Sexual dimorphism:	Males are light blue in all known populations and, in some localities, also show golden-yellow to orange coloration on the ventral head and breast. Females are gray to beige, and along parts of the eastern shore they often show yellow margins in the unpaired fins.
Recommended aquarium size:	250 L.
Aquarium setup:	Provide extensive rockwork with caves and hiding places. Keep one male with 3–4 females.
Diet:	Omnivorous with a strong emphasis on Aufwuchs grazing. It combs diatoms and fine cyanobacterial strands from the algal matrix on rocks, and also feeds on phytoplankton and planktonic items when available.
Breeding:	Males hold territories over rock and, less often, over sand where burrows are excavated. Females may form schools with juveniles and non-territorial males, but ripe females are courted near a male’s territory. Spawning takes place inside the male’s burrow; females mouthbrood about 10–30 eggs and release fry after roughly three to three and a half weeks, then abandon them.
Aggression:	Can be aggressive within the species, especially between males, but is generally tolerant toward other species.
Special notes:	A member of the Maylandia aurora group, sharing the lack of a black submarginal band in the dorsal fin, weak or absent vertical barring in live fish, and light-brown females with yellow fin margins. Female coloration overlaps with several aurora-group species and is not reliably diagnostic. Male coloration varies by locality, including populations that are entirely light blue and others with yellow-orange on the ventral head; mixed and intermediate male patterns can occur where forms meet.