Breeding Lemon Cichlid (Neolamprologus Leleupi) 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 yellow-orange or orange-red. There is also a few multi-colour variants of this fish e.g. silver-black and brown-black or with blue/dark mouth. The bottom fins have light blue border. The species has big lips and mouth with teeth in its throat. Female is smaller and thicker than male.

Temperament and behaviour

The young fish prefers to live in larger group. Then they form monogamous pairs. Males are very aggressive towards each other when they are sexually mature. Males can be also aggressive towards females after the spawning and when protecting the offspring. Usually female lives in one corner of the tank and male lives in another corner of the aquarium until the next spawn. This is predatory species. You shouldn't keep these fish with small species. You should keep them with synodontis catfish, other peaceful cichlids (e.g. Julidochromis genus or Altolamprologus genus). Colors of these fish depend on the substrate colour and decorative elements (dark substrate makes the fish colours to be darker) and their diet (it should be varied and have a good quality and be protein-rich - then colour of the fish is yellow). You should feed these fish with small portions of the food, several times per day.

Aquarium decoration

This species prefers a spacious tank. Aquarium should have a lot of hiding-places among rocks, stones, caves, soft and light substrate, effective filtration system, oxygen-rich water. A partial water exchange should be done regularly (10-20% per week). You may add a small amount of sea salt to the water for medical purposes. This species is sensitive to rapid changes in temperature and chemical composition of the water.

Breeding

This is an oviparous species. The fish spawn in female's territory – in cave, between slits of rocks or in dark place. Female lays up to 100 eggs on the bottom of the hideout and male immediately fertilizes them. Colour of the eggs is white. The offspring appears in the aquarium about 1 week after the spawning. The parents take care and protect the offspring for a long time.