Konye facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Konye
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Genus:	Konia
Species:	K. eisentrauti
Binomial name
Konia eisentrauti (Trewavas, 1962)
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Synonyms
Konia einsentrauti (Trewavas, 1962) Tilapia eisentrauti Trewavas, 1962

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Lake Barombi

The konye (Konia eisentrauti) is a special type of fish. It belongs to the Cichlidae family, which includes many popular aquarium fish. This fish is found only in one place in the world: Lake Barombi Mbo. This lake is a crater lake in western Cameroon, a country in Africa. The konye is in great danger of disappearing forever. Scientists call it a "critically endangered" species. Its home is threatened by things like pollution, dirt washing into the lake, and even natural gas coming up from the lake's bottom.

What Does the Konye Look Like?

The konye is a small fish, growing to about 9.3 centimeters (about 3.7 inches) long. It's a bit flat from side to side, like a pancake. It has a mouth that points straight forward and a forehead that slopes down. Its fins don't have much color. The fin on its back (dorsal fin) has 15 to 16 stiff spines and 10 to 11 soft rays. The fin on its belly (anal fin) has 3 spines and 8 to 9 soft rays.

The konye has a unique look. Its body is a light color, with a row of dark spots along its back. Another row of dark spots runs along each side of its body. Most of its head doesn't have scales, but its cheeks have a few. The rest of its body is fully covered in scales.

Life Cycle and Habits

The konye is a benthopelagic fish. This means it lives near the bottom but also swims in the open water. It prefers the warm upper parts of Lake Barombi Mbo, where the water is around 26 °C (about 79 °F).

What Does the Konye Eat?

This fish eats different things. It scrapes algae off rocks and stones, which are tiny plant-like organisms. It also eats small insects like mayflies and other tiny creatures. Sometimes, it even eats fish eggs. Interestingly, the konye has been known to steal food collected by freshwater crabs!

How Does the Konye Reproduce?

The konye is a mouthbrooder. This is a special way some fish protect their eggs and young. After the eggs are fertilized, either the mother or the father takes them into their mouth. They keep the eggs safe inside their mouth until they hatch. While mouthbrooding, the fish usually stays quietly near the lakebed. Female konye fish are often better at raising their young this way than males.

The eggs stay in the parent's mouth for 7 to 10 days before hatching. The tiny fish, called fry, usually stay in the parent's mouth for about three weeks. After that, they are released to live on their own.

Why is the Konye Endangered?

The konye is known to live in only one place in the world: Lake Barombi Mbo in Cameroon. This makes it very vulnerable. The area around the lake is facing many problems caused by people.

• Deforestation: More and more trees are being cut down around the lake.
• Slash-and-burn agriculture: This farming method involves cutting and burning forests, which harms the land.
• Palm oil plantations: Large areas are being used to grow palm trees for palm oil.

These activities cause several issues for the lake:

• Sedimentation: When trees are cut down, soil and dirt wash into the lake more easily. This makes the water cloudy and can cover the lakebed, harming fish habitats.
• Pollution: Human activities can also lead to pollution in the lake.

There are also natural dangers for the konye in this crater lake:

• Lake Turnover: Because more trees are gone, the lake is more exposed to winds. This could cause the lake's water to "turn over." This means the deep, cold water with little oxygen could mix with the warm, oxygen-rich surface water. This sudden change could be very bad for the fish.
• Outgassing: Crater lakes can sometimes release large "burps" of carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas that was trapped at the bottom. This is called outgassing. A similar event happened in 2007, when many deep-water fish were found floating dead on the surface of Lake Barombi Mbo.

Because of all these threats, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the konye as "critically endangered." This means it faces a very high risk of disappearing from the wild.