Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Ophthalmotilapia nasuta

Ophthalmotilapia nasuta "Lyamembe"

Lyamembe — lyah-MEHM-beh (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 Ophthalmotilapia nasuta account →

Specific to Lyamembe

  • 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 Ophthalmotilapia nasuta.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size8 in20 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH8.6–9.3alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth3–33 ft1–10 m
DietPlanktivore — picks plankton from open water, plus small invertebrates and insect larvae; long herbivore-style gut, best fed a vegetable-based diet in captivity.
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder; lek/bower spawnerSmall — typically a few dozen large eggs (genus-typical for featherfins)
Sexual dimorphismYesStrong. Males larger and yellow (population-dependent) with greatly elongated pelvic fins tipped by swollen yellow egg-dummy lures, longer dorsal and pronounced nasal swelling; females and subordinate males plain silver-grey.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Lyamembe population

Ophthalmotilapia nasuta "Lyamembe" is the Lyamembe population of Ophthalmotilapia nasuta, 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 Ophthalmotilapia nasuta, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Lyamembe fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Ophthalmotilapia nasuta is a slender, open-water cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika and one of the lake's celebrated "featherfins." It is best known for the breeding theatre of its males, which sculpt sand craters on the lake floor and grow long pelvic fins tipped with bright, egg-shaped lures used to court passing females. Most populations wear some shade of yellow, and the hobby prizes the cleanest golden forms above all others.

Full Ophthalmotilapia nasuta account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Ophthalmotilapia nasuta 'Lyamembe'
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — species record for Ophthalmochromis/Ophthalmotilapia nasuta
  3. FishBase — Ophthalmotilapia nasuta summary
  4. GBIF — Ophthalmotilapia nasuta (Poll & Matthes, 1962)
  5. Poll, M. & Matthes, H. (1962). Trois poissons remarquables du lac Tanganika. Annales du Musée royal de l'Afrique Centrale (orig. description)
  6. Konings, A. (ed.) — The Cichlids Yearbook, vol. 4 (Cichlid Press): Herrmann, H.-J., 'Ophthalmotilapia nasuta from Resha, Burundi' (field biotope, depth, nesting & colour-form notes)
  7. Konings, A. — Tanganyika Featherfins in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press) — featherfin biotope, lek & bower behaviour
  8. IUCN Red List — Ophthalmotilapia nasuta "Lyamembe"