Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Cheilochromis is a genus of freshwater fish in the cichlid family. It contains the sole species Cheilochromis euchilus, the Malawi thicklip, which is endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa where it prefers near-shore areas with rocky bottoms. This species reaches a length of 35 centimetres (14 in) TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.
Chilotilapia is a genus of freshwater fish in the cichlid family. It contains the sole species Chilotilapia rhoadesii, the Malawi bream, which is endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa, where it prefers areas with muddy substrates from the shallows to quite deep waters. Its primary food consists of Melanoides and Lanistes snails. It can reach a length of 22.5 centimetres (8.9 in) TL. Though commonly called a "bream", this is due to its looks as it is quite unrelated to the breams proper, which are cypriniform fishes. This species is also found in the aquarium trade.
Nimbochromis polystigma is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, in the Great Rift Valley system of Africa. This species prefers areas with rock/sand substrate or areas with plentiful vegetation. It can grow to a length of 23 centimetres (9.1 in) TL.
Copadichromis borleyi is a species of haplochromine cichlid fish endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. The species is popular in the fishkeeping hobby where it is frequently kept in aquariums. The species has numerous common names, including redfin hap and goldfin hap.
The nkhomo-benga peacock, also known as the new yellow regal peacock, is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is endemic to Lake Malawi. This species is threatened by capture for the aquarium trade.
Aulonocara rostratum is a species of haplochromine cichlid. It is endemic to Lake Malawi where it is found in Malawi and Tanzania. It is found throughout the lake. The males gather in loose aggregations in sandy areas, defending small territories which they defend from other males.
The slender tail hap, is a species of fish in the, tribe Haplochromini part of the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae of the family Cichlidae.
Buccochromis nototaenia, the stripeback hap, is a species of fish in the, tribe Haplochromini part of the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae of the family Cichlidae.
Buccochromis oculatus is a species of haplochromine cichlid. It is endemic to Lake Malawi where it is found at 18 meters depth in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes. The only threat may be potential overfishing. This taxon is regarded a junior synonym of Buccochromis nototaenia by the IUCN.
Buccochromis rhoadesii is a species of haplochromine cichlid. It is endemic to Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe and the upper Shire River in the countries of Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Buccochromis spectabilis is a species of haplochromine cichlid. It is endemic to Lake Malawi in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. It lives in shallow waters near the lake shore.
Copadichromis virginalis is a species of haplochromine cichlid, which is endemic to Lake Malawi the upper Shire River and to Lake Malombe. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The population has shown signs of a severe decline and is under pressure from overfishing for food, in 2018 this led to the IUCN changing its status from Data Deficient to Near Threatened.
Dimidiochromis strigatus is a species of haplochromine cichlid endemic to Malawi. It was formerly placed in the genus Haplochromis and known as Haplochromis 'sunset' in the aquarium fish trade.
Eclectochromis ornatus is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is endemic to Malawi. where it occurs in Lake Malawi and Lake Malombe. It is a predator of invertebrates and of smaller fishes which lives in shallow areas of the lake which have a soft or mixed substrate.
Lethrinops microdon is an endangered species of cichlid endemic to the southern part of Lake Malawi where it occurs at depths of 35 to 100 metres in areas with soft substrates. This species grow to a length of 13.1 centimetres (5.2 in) SL. The species is threatened by trawl fisheries and has greatly declined but little is known about its population and distribution within Lake Malawi, it is given a status of Data Deficient by the IUCN.
Lethrinops stridei is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it occurs at depths of from 15 to 55 metres in areas with sandy substrates. This species grows to a length of 13 centimetres (5.1 in) SL. The specific name honours Kenneth E. Stride, who introduced successful commercial trawling to Lake Malawi, and this species is now very rare in Lake Malawi and is threatened by overfishing by commercial trawlers.
Nothobranchius kirki, the redfin notho, is a species of killifish from the family Nothobranchiidae which is endemic to Malawi where it occurs in the drainages of Lake Malawi and Lake Chilwa. It inhabits swamps and ephemeral pools. This species can reach a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in) TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species was described in 1969 by the South African ichthyologist Rex Jubb from types collected by R. G. Kirk, who was a fish biologist of the Agricultural Research Services part of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Malawi, from a pool adjacent to the Likangala River which forms part of the endorheic basin of Lake Chilwa in Malawi.
Petrotilapia genalutea is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it inhabits areas with rocky substrates from which it grazes algae. This species can reach a length 13.1 centimetres (5.2 in) SL. This species is also found in the aquarium trade.
Stigmatochromis woodi is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it can be found hunting for prey over sandy areas. It can reach a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. The specific name honours Rodney C. Wood, whose collection of cichlids from Lake Malawi, which included the type of this species, was presented to the British Museum. It is the type species of the genus Stigmatochromis.
