Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Ophthalmotilapia ventralis

Ophthalmotilapia ventralis "Mamalesa Island"

Mamalesa Island — mah-mah-LEH-sah 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 Ophthalmotilapia ventralis account →

Specific to Mamalesa 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 Ophthalmotilapia ventralis.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size6 in15 cm standard length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH8.6–9.3alkaline
Depth7–33 ft2–10 m
DietGrazer-micropredator: aufwuchs (algae, diatoms, micro-invertebrates) on rock plus suspended zooplankton; trophic level ~2.2
BreedingMaternal mouthbrooder; lek/bower-building (males construct sand craters and display)small, ~15–40 eggs for featherfins (Konings); O. ventralis typically at the low end, often under 16
Sexual dimorphismYesStrong. Mature males develop greatly elongated pelvic (ventral) fins tipped with swollen, brightly coloured egg-dummy pads (yellow/orange/white) and switch on intense metallic blue when displaying; females and non-displaying males are plain greenish-silver. Males colour up only near adult size (~8–9 months).
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mamalesa Island population

Ophthalmotilapia ventralis "Mamalesa Island" is the Mamalesa Island population of Ophthalmotilapia ventralis, a geographic colour form from the Tanzania coast of Lake Tanganyika in the central part of the lake. It is the same species as Ophthalmotilapia ventralis, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Mamalesa Island fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Ophthalmotilapia ventralis is a sand-bower-building cichlid of Lake Tanganyika, known to aquarists as the "featherfin" for the extravagantly elongated pelvic fins the males trail like streamers. Each pelvic fin ends in a swollen, brightly pigmented tassel that doubles as an egg-dummy in one of the lake's more remarkable spawning rituals. It is a maternal mouthbrooder that fragments into dozens of geographically isolated colour morphs around the lakeshore, and although the species itself is listed as Least Concern, its shallow rocky home sits squarely in the path of the basin's mounting pressures.

Full Ophthalmotilapia ventralis account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Ophthalmotilapia ventralis 'Mamalesa Island'
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Ophthalmotilapia ventralis (Boulenger 1898)
  3. FishBase: Ophthalmotilapia ventralis summary
  4. FishBase Field Guide: Ophthalmotilapia ventralis
  5. iNaturalist taxon: Ophthalmotilapia ventralis (Featherfin)
  6. Konings, A. (1992) Cichlids Yearbook vol. 2 — geographical races of Ophthalmotilapia ventralis, southern Lake Tanganyika (Cichlid Press)
  7. Konings, A. — Enjoying Cichlids, 2nd ed. — featherfin nest-building, clutch size (15–40) and burnt-out males (Cichlid Press)
  8. IUCN Red List — Ophthalmotilapia ventralis "Mamalesa Island"