Tropheus sp. lukuga "Karilani Island"

Karilani Islandkah-ree-LAH-nee 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 Tropheus sp. lukuga account →

Specific to Karilani 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 Tropheus sp. lukuga.

IUCNNOT EVALUATED
NEnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.5 in14 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.8–9alkaline
Depth3–49 ft1–15 m
Dietherbivore — grazes algal aufwuchs from the upper rocky littoral
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodersmall, ~5–20 large eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesweak; venting needed to sex reliably
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Karilani Island population

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

Colour reference: living Karilani Island fish at tanganyika.si

About the species

Tropheus sp. lukuga is an undescribed rock-grazing Tropheus of Lake Tanganyika — a distinctive geographic colour form (or complex of forms) recognized and traded by aquarists and documented in the biotope literature, but not yet formally described. Like the lake's other locality forms, it is kept and bred by collection point, and its value to hobbyists lies precisely in that documented provenance.

Full Tropheus sp. lukuga account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Tropheus sp. 'lukuga' Karilani Island
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (California Academy of Sciences)