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Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps
Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps
tanganyika.si
Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps.
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Usually found in larger groups, typical of sand-dwelling cichlids.
Most commonly at depths up to about 3 m; deeper occurrences are rare.
Restricted to the Tanzanian shoreline, occurring on sandy coasts between the Mahale Mountains and Cape Mpimbwe.
Females remain silvery throughout their lives.
Provide rocks arranged to form caves and visual barriers.
Aquatic plants can be added to provide shelter for females.
Best kept in groups with several males and females.
Minimum aquarium length of about 100 cm is recommended.
Feeds mainly on insects, crustaceans, and other small invertebrates.
In aquaria, readily accepts live and frozen foods such as mysis, daphnia, and cyclops.
The male constructs a small volcano-shaped sand nest, about 15 cm in diameter.
Male territories are spaced approximately 2–3 meters apart in nature.
Eggs are laid on the spawning platform and immediately collected by the female.
Fertilization occurs using anal-fin egg dummies.
Brooding period lasts about 17–20 days.
Typical brood size ranges from approximately 15 to 40 fry.
Slightly less aggressive than Callochromis macrops, but males may still be combative toward each other.
This form was historically misidentified as Callochromis stappersii by Ad Konings.
C. stappersii is now regarded as a junior synonym of Callochromis pleurospilus.
In later works, this Tanzanian population was correctly designated as Callochromis sp. ‘pleurospilus tanzania’.
It closely resembles C. pleurospilus but differs by a more pointed snout and differences in dentition.
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