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CICHLIDS By: Gatekeeper |
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Lake Tanganyika cichlids
are tropical, freshwater fishes from the area between the equator and
the southern tropical zone. These fishes require water temperatures
between at least 22 C up to a maximum of 28 C. An average of 25 C is
ideal. The pH value should not be below 7, better even 7.5. The upper pH
range can extend to pH 9. Decorating material like driftwood or peat
must not be used as it acidifies the water. The total hardness should
not drop below 8 dGH. If the water is too soft, sodium bicarbonate or
other commercially available products should be used. Good filtration
must ensure that the water stays clean of accumulating metabolic
products. The stocking density of fish needs to be considered with great
care, not only because nature conservation agencies are increasingly
critical of keeping wildcaught fish, but also because it is not good
practice to keep too many fish in small tanks. We must always keep in
mind that the cichlids in the aquarium are totally dependent on the
keeper and they can only be kept successfully under good conditions.
This requires a sufficiently large bottom surface area and comprehensive
knowledge about their natural behaviour. The recommended Keeping different species
together in a small space is always problematic. The choice of fish
community that seems ideal for one keeper may not be successful for
another. Hopefully, there are no longer aquarists keeping Lamprologus
ocellatus, that attains up to 5 cm, together with Lepidiolamprologus
profundicola that grows to a length of more than 30 cm. It must be
decided beforehand which species can be kept together and which species
will not tolerate each other. The cichlids of Lake Tanganyika can be
roughly divided into groups that are easily kept together. We find many
grazers like those of the genera Petrochromis, Pseudosimochromis,
Simochromis, Tropheus, Eretmodus, Tanganicodus, and Spathodus.
These are robust rock dwellers that can make an excellent fish community
in the aquarium if the species are chosen well. For example, one species
of each genus Petrochromis, Simochromis, Tropheus and Eretmodus
can be kept together in a 1000-1200 litre tank depending on the stocking
density. A tank with a bottom surface area of 200x70 cm is sufficient
for a male Under these circumstances feeding briefly cooked spinach would be better than letting the fish destroy valuable aquatic plants. The filter should be powered by a pump that can deliver 1000 litres per hour. The volume of the filter and the surface area should be as large as possible. Biological filters made of three chambers are very practical. The chambers can be filled with styrofoam, ceramic rings or gravel. It is important to use fine filter wool first as it is the only substrate in the filter that is being exchanged from time to time. Other filter media covered with bacteria should remain undisturbed as long as possible. Although such a filter will operate well, we still have to replace a part of the water every two weeks.
On the other hand, a community of cave breeders is much more difficult to compose. As these fishes occupy the same environmental niches, we cannot keep too many different species together in one tank. The smaller cave breeders are the shell dwellers that spawn in empty Neothauma shells. Any other snail shell such as those that are found in good food stores may serve as a replacement. Small cichlids are best kept as pairs in a small 60-litre tank. The substrate should consist of very fine sand as these species love to bury shells. Some fist-size stones will make a good tank decoration and serve as hiding places. Larger cave dwellers need a larger tank as well. The
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guidelines
given on the CD-ROM and in the catalogue should be followed. The
recommended tank dimensions may seem a bit exaggerated for some smaller
cave-breeding species, but in fact the fish do exhibit a more natural
behaviour in a larger tank.
Petrochromis
with a harem of four females, a group of 12-15 Tropheus moorii and two
pairs of Eretmodus cyanostictus. Although these species have overlapping
habitat requirements, they will find their genus-specific niches
providing the tank is decorated well. The only recommended substrate is
fine to medium fluvial sand that should not be too brightly coloured.
The design of the tank decoration is more important than the substrate.
The tank should be filled with flat square stones. Covering the whole
back wall of the tank is not necessary, but it may be recommended to
pile some rocks all the way up to the top of the tank below the water
surface. Most important, we need to have markers that help the fish to
recognize territories. This can be accomplished using large upright flat
rocks that obscure part of the tank from the fish's point of view. One
or two areas of rubble positioned before the back wall will create a
pleasant impression and provide shelter for adults and juveniles of
species from the genera Eretmodus, Spathodus and Tanganicodus.
Plants are not recommended for two reasons. First, there are hardly any
plants in the natural habitat of these species, and second, these fish
do like to feed on vegetable matter.
While
the above-mentioned community of the robust and active rock-cichlids
does not exactly describe a calm and harmonic tank, the following choice
of fish should create a more complacent atmosphere. The bottom surface
area measures 160x60 cm. The substrate consists of a 3-4 cm layer of
fine fluvial sand. One or two patches of plants, e.g., Cryptocoryne
species can add to the decoration of the tank and provide shelter for
fry. Some round and flat rocks should be placed in the open areas of the
tank to mark different territories. The back and the side walls will be
covered with large flat rocks. Cyprichromis and Paracyprichromis,
Ophthalmotilapia, Cyathopharynx, Cunningtonia and Aulonocranus
and "sand cichlids" of the genera Xenotilapia, Enantiopus,
Grammatotria, Lestradea and Ectodus are ideal fishes for such a
tank. Small cave breeders of the genus Neolamprologus are a valuable
contribution. An aquarium as described above could be stocked in the
following way. Choose one or two males of Ophthalmotilapia ventralis
is with four females, to Shaker the tank with a shoal of 1 5 Cyprichromis
leptosoma. As both species prefer to stay in the middle to upper
regions of the tank there is space left on the bottom of the aquarium,
which could be filled with two males and four to six females of the
species Enantiopus melanogenys. Behind the rocks standing upright in the
back or at the base of some rocks a pair of Neolamprologus buescheri may
be rearing their young. Such a community should not create too many
problems as these species are quite tolerant towards each other, except
the Neolamprologus.
Lamprologids
to which the genera Lamprologus, Chalinochromis, Julidochromis,
Lepidiolamprologus, Neolamprologus and Telmatochromis belong, do
not swim very actively but need large breeding territories which they
vehemently defend against invaders. The substrate in a tank with cave
breeders should consist of fine, not too brightly coloured sand. Plants
can be added as these species are mostly carnivorous and feed on small
food items but will not feed on thin plant material. There should be
sufficient shelter in the tank to allow lower-ranking animals to hide.
If these fish cannot retreat, they will be attacked and damaged by their
conspecifics. Most of the cave breeders know how to fight each other.
The species in such a community should not resemble each other in
appearance, as their intra-specific agonistic behaviour may be directed
even against members of other species. Cyprichromis and Paracyprichromis
species could be added to this community. Species of the genera Xenotilapia,
Ectodus and Lestradea are also ideal to have, as they occupy the
otherwise empty open-water area that is not being used by the cave
dwellers. Chalinochromis and Julidochromis species can be kept
with aufwuchs-feeders of the genera Tropheus, Petrochromis and
Simochromis.
Carnivorous
species or those that live on other small live food, are best fed with
pond food such as various mosquito larvae, cyclops, daphnia, or even
small brine shrimp, mysis, and gammarus. These do not always have to be
freshly caught but can be stored in the freezer and fed well thawed.
Once the Lake Tanganyika cichlids have become accustomed to the tank
they may also take flake food or food sticks. It is important to provide
a balanced diet and not to overfeed the fish. The same holds true for
the large group of grazers that require a fibre-rich diet. If these
species are not slowly accustomed to taking flake food they may suffer
problems with their digestive system. Many breeders feed about 70-80%
flake food or food sticks, and add mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, or
cyclops to this. Swedish aquarists propagate a mixture of deepsea crabs,
spirulina, peas, and gelatine as a binder. In the past, various species
have had difficulties to getting used to this food mixture. Anders
Lernhammar and Henrik Johansson reported to me, that once this kind of
food has been milled to a fine dust it can be fed to any aufwuchs-feeder.
If you would like to know more about the keeping and breeding of Lake
Tanganyika cichlids, I would like to recommend the very comprehensive
Aqualex-special CD-ROM of the fishes of Lake Tanganyika.