Knife cichlid
| Knife cichlid | ||||||||||||
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Knife cichlid ( Dimidiochromis compressiceps ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dimidiochromis compressiceps | ||||||||||||
| ( Boulenger , 1908) |
The knife cichlid ( Dimidiochromis compressiceps , Syn .: Haplochromis compressiceps ) is an endemic cichlid found in the East African Lake Malawi , in the Malombesee south of it and in the upper Shire .
features
The fish species can reach a total length of 20 (females) to 25 cm (males) and has an elongated, pike-like and laterally strongly flattened body (type epithet : compressiceps ), a pointed head and a protruding lower jaw. In older animals, the forehead line is clearly indented above the eyes. The mouth is large and above all. Young knife cichlids are whitish to gray-silvery, with the back darker and the belly lighter. A dark longitudinal band runs from the eye over the middle of the body to the base of the caudal fin. Another, less pronounced, just below the dorsal fin. The fins are grayish transparent, the dorsal fin has an orange border. Sexually mature males shimmer green-blue to light blue. Her anal fin shows whitish egg spots. Adult females have a golden shimmer, especially on their heads.
- Fin formula : dorsal XV / 12, anal III / 11.
- Scale formula : mLR 35, SL 22/16.
Way of life
The knife cichlid lives in shallow water between reed beds or stocks of Vallisneria . It feeds on small fish, its prey fish mainly include young utakas , which it catches with a pike-like advance. Like all haplochromine cichlids, the species is an ovophilic mouthbrooder in which the female takes care of the brood. The male builds a sand funnel to spawn.
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 , p. 756.
Web links
- Dimidiochromis compressiceps on Fishbase.org (English)