Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Melanochromis: Greek, melas, melanos = black + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; depth range 5 - 5 m (Ref. 58018). Tropical
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 7.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 26078)
Africa: Lake Malawi.
Commonly observed over small to medium sized rocks between 5 and 10 mm. Typically feeds on zooplankton and epibenthic invertebrates.
Bowers, N. and J.R. Stauffer Jr., 1997. Eight new species of rock-dwelling cichlids of the genus Melanochromis (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Africa. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 8(1):49-70.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundance
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01235 (-0.16179 - 0.18649), b=3.00 (2.91 - 3.10), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.41 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (11 of 100) .