Home

Hagfishes

Chimaeras

Lampreys

Sharks and Rays

Halosaurs and deep-sea Spiny eels

Lightfishes and Dragonfishes

Live bearers, Killifishes and Rivulines

Antarctic dragonfishes

Barbled plunderfishes

Cales and weed-whitings

Cardinalfishes

Catadromous icefishes

Crocodile toothfishes

Deepwater cardinalfishes

Emperors or scavengers

False scorpionfishes

False trevallies

Freshwater sleepers

Freshwater tripletails

Grunters or tigerperches

Lanternbellies, temperate ocean-basses

Mackerels, tunas, bonitos

Moonyfishes or fingerfishes

Pike-, tube- and flagblennies

Sea basses: groupers and fairy basslets

Sea chubs

Sicklefishes

Sleepers

Slimys, slipmouths or ponyfishes

Spadefishes, batfishes and scats

Surgeonfishes, tangs, unicornfishes

Threadfin breams, Whiptail breams

Pipefishes and Seahorses

Pricklefishes, Bigscales and Gibberfishes

Puffers and Filefishes

Pygmy sunfishes

Salmons

Sawbellies

Scorpionfishes and Flatheads

Silversides

Smelts

Spiny eels

Sticklebacks and Seamoths

Sturgeons and Paddlefishes

Swallowers and Gulpers

Tarpons and Tenpounders

Toadfishes

Trout-perches, Pirate perches and Cavefish

Velifers, Tube-eyes and Ribbonfishes

250L community aquarium

Purple mbuna (Melanochromis vermivorus) fish species and information / pictures of Purple mbuna - Melanochromis vermivorus

Purple mbuna (Melanochromis vermivorus) fish species information

Scientific Name
Melanochromis vermivorus

Common Name
Purple mbuna

Biology
Forms schools (Ref. 4364).

Classification

Classified By

Trewavas, 1935

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Cichlids (Cichlidae)

Distribution

Region

Africa

Distribution

Africa: Lake Malawi: Monkey Bay, Nankumba Peninsula, Eccles Reef, West Reef and Domwe, Thumbi West, Mumbo, Maleri, Mbenji, Chinyankwazi Islands.

Range

9°S - 15°S

Environment

Climate

Tropical

Water Temperature From

22 °C

Water Temperature To

26 °C

Depth From - meters

Unknown m

Depth To - meters

Unknown m

Zone

demersal

Environment

Freshwater; ; pH range: 7.0 - 8.5; dH range: 10 - 15 demersal

Trophic Level

2.67 s.e. 0.26 Based on food items.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

False

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

True

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

True

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

7.4 cm

Common Length

Unknown cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Aquarium: commercial

Vulnerability

Low vulnerability (11 of 100)

Resilience

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Least Concern (LC)