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Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps

Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps
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Neolamprologus cylindricus 'Izinga'.jpg Neolamprologus cylindricus 'Izinga Island'.jpg Neolamprologus cylindricus 'Kafungi'.jpg Neolamprologus cylindricus 'Kalambo Lodge'.jpg Neolamprologus cylindricus 'Kasanga'.jpg
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Tribe / Genus: Lamprologini / Neolamprologus
Type locality: Kalambo River, Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania.
Biotope: Rocky habitat, typically in shallow water. Unlike N. leleupi, N. longior, and N. mustax, it is usually found within the upper 10 meters of the rocky zone, staying very close to rocks and caves that provide shelter from predators and serve as breeding sites.
Geographic distribution: Known only from the southeastern coast of Lake Tanganyika, from Karema in Tanzania to Kombe in Zambia.
Typical adult size: Up to about 10 cm in the wild; in aquaria it may reach roughly 11–12 cm.
Sexual dimorphism: Males are larger than females, with no clear external differences otherwise.
Recommended aquarium size: 200 L for a pair.
Aquarium setup: Provide rockwork that forms distinct caves; caves are essential because this species repeatedly swims in and out of them and also breeds inside them. It remains closely associated with the rocks.
Because of strong intraspecific aggression, never keep more than one male. Best practice is one male with one female, or one male with two females. A common approach is to start with 5–7 juveniles and allow a pair to form (around 8 months), then remove the others.
A formed pair may be kept in an aquarium around 120 × 40 cm (approximately 200 L), but if the pair bond breaks, a male may quickly kill the female even in such a tank, so a larger aquarium is recommended. For a community setup, at least 300 L is advised, or preferably a tank length of at least 150 cm. Suitable tankmates are other robust Tanganyika cichlids such as species from Neolamprologus, Altolamprologus, and Cyprichromis; avoid similarly shaped or ecologically similar species such as N. leleupi, N. longior, Julidochromis, and comparable fishes.
Diet: Carnivorous. In nature it feeds mainly on invertebrates picked from crevices among rocks. In aquaria, offer a variety of frozen and live foods.
Breeding: Breeds exclusively in caves; without suitable caves, spawning will not occur. Spawning takes place in the female’s cave, where eggs are laid on the cave wall and fertilized by the male. Clutch size is usually around 50–100 eggs, sometimes more. The female typically remains in the cave for a long time until the fry become free-swimming, while the male only rarely returns to the cave after spawning.
Aggression: Highly aggressive toward conspecifics. Toward other species it is generally non-aggressive if the aquarium is sufficiently large, and will mainly defend its territory around the cave.
Special notes: In body shape and behavior it resembles N. leleupi, and even more N. longior, with a long and elegant body, but it differs strongly in coloration and especially in the body pattern.
Polychromatism is described as absent; most geographic variants are broadly similar, with one noted exception: a population from Izinga Island described as Neolamprologus cylindricus ‘Green’, reported to have four bars beneath the dorsal fin, whereas other variants have five. A trade form sometimes called “Golden cylindricus” is described by Ad Konings as most likely a hybrid between N. longior and N. cylindricus.

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Photo: © Ad Konings
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