Breeding Cylinder Cichlid (Neolamprologus Cylindricus) In The Aquarium

Location

This freshwater species lives in African Tanganyika Lake.

Body description

Body of the fish is elongated and fusiform. Colour of the body is beige-bluish or beige-white with light under-side. There are 10 transverse, brown/black stripes on the sides of the fish. There are also irregular dots on the head. There are also stripes on the base of the dorsal fin. All fins have light blue border. The caudal, dorsal and anal fins have also small blue dots. Male is larger than female. His pelvic fins are more elongated comparing to female's pelvic fins.

Temperament and behaviour

This is predatory species. You shouldn't keep these fish with small species because this fish may be aggressive towards smaller fish. They do not attack larger fish which have different colours of the body. Small and similar coloured species will be harassed at all times. This species lives alone in nature and you should keep single fish or matched pair of the fish in the aquarium if you have small aquarium. These fish occupies their territories and they mainly stay there. The fish became more territorial with age – males fight to the death for dominance. You should feed these fish with small portions of the food, several times per day.

Aquarium decoration

The aquarium should have a lot of hiding-places among stones, rocks with smooth edges, soft substrate (sand or fine gravel), plants (this species doesn't damage plants). You need an effective filtration system and systematic partial water changes – the fish prefers clean and oxygen-rich water. All water parameters must be stable. You may add a small amount of sea salt to the water for medical purposes.

Breeding

This is an oviparous species. The fish stays in monogamous pairs. You should separate all pairs – the fish are very aggressive and territorial towards own species during the spawning season. Female lays eggs in own territory – between stones, in cave or in the pot. Male immediately fertilizes them. The eggs hatch after 4 days. The fry starts to swim and feed 4-6 days later. The parents take care and protect the offspring.