Matumbi Hunter Care Guide
Lipochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter" is a paedophagous haplochromine cichlid of Lake Victoria's Mwanza Gulf that preys on the broods of mouthbrooding cichlids.
Overview
Lipochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter" is an undescribed haplochromine cichlid from Lake Victoria. It is a paedophage: it feeds by stealing eggs and fry from mouthbrooding cichlids. Peer-reviewed work describes it with a slender, gray body and inclined outer teeth in the lower jaw, a form unusual among paedophages.
Taxonomy
- Family: Cichlidae
- Genus: Lipochromis
- Designation: Lipochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter" (undescribed species; also reported as Haplochromis sp. "matumbi hunter")
Habitat
Published research records this fish from the Mwanza Gulf in the southern part of Lake Victoria, East Africa. It was initially found only around Matumbi Island in the central gulf and later expanded into northern gulf areas such as Kilimo Island and Nyegezi Bay. Lake Victoria is a hard, alkaline rift lake.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 300 L (about 79 gal)
- Temperature: 24-28 °C (75-82 °F)
- pH: 7.5-8.5
- GH: 10-20 °dGH
- Lifespan: 5-8 years
- Water flow: medium
Diet
Matumbi Hunter is a carnivore and a specialised paedophage. In the wild it consumes the eggs and larvae of other cichlids. Paedophagous cichlids obtain this brood by forcing mouthbrooding females to release their young, including by ramming the female's head. In aquaria it is fed meaty foods twice daily.
Compatibility
This is a semi-aggressive, mid-water cichlid. Because it preys on the broods of mouthbrooding fish, it should not be housed with mouthbrooding females or with smaller, vulnerable cichlids. Suitable tank mates are limited to larger Lake Victoria haplochromines; mbuna, Tropheus, discus and dwarf cichlids such as Apistogramma are unsuitable.
Breeding
Like other Lake Victoria haplochromines, Matumbi Hunter is a maternal mouthbrooder: the female incubates eggs and fry in her mouth. Breeding is rated as advanced for the aquarium.
Conservation status
Genomic research found that this species experienced the most severe recent population bottleneck among the Lake Victoria cichlids studied, coinciding with the Nile perch invasion of the 1970s-1980s, before its population rebounded in later decades. Like much of the Lake Victoria cichlid fauna, it is of conservation concern.