Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Haplochromis: Greek, Haploos = single + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).
Issue
This species is placed in the genus Mbipia Seehausen & Bouton, 1998 in Eschmeyer (CofF ver. Mar. 2011: Ref. 86697). We keep all the lacustrine and riverine "Haplochromine" species of the Lake Victoria catchment in the genus Haplochromis Hilgendorf, 1888 following Van Oijen et al. (1996: Ref. 12750), until a new complete taxonomic revision is published.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; depth range 0 - 2 m (Ref. 27668). Tropical
Africa: known only from the western Speke Gulf and the Sengerema region of Lake Victoria, Tanzania.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 13.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27668)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Inhabits exclusively the shallow waters (0-2 m) of gently sloping small rock boulder shores, particularly surf protected habitats like small bays. Adult males keep territories at 0.5 m depth under the roots of floating reed mats, but also in large and deep pools between the rock stacks. Found over stone-sand mixed substrate. Feeds mainly on filamentous algae, but takes also insect larvae.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
A polygynous female mouth brooder with maternal parental care. Males seem to be territorial and sometimes chase other fishes. Brooding females have been observed in very shallow water under roots of floating reed. In the aquarium, females release their fry after about 21 days but continue to keep them in the mouth in situations of danger and at night, for up to another 17 days. Size at 50% maturity not precisely known, but above 12.3 cm SL at the Makobe Island (Lake Victoria, Tanzania).
Seehausen, O., E. Lippitsch, N. Bouton and H. Zwennes, 1998. Mbipi, the rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Victoria: description of three new genera and fifteen new species (Teleostei). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 9(2):129-228. (Ref. 27668)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00674 - 0.03099), b=2.99 (2.82 - 3.16), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.6 ±0.27 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).