The Lemon Cichlid - Lamprologus leleupi

Author: Caryl
Date: 18 May 2002

Common Name: Lemon cichlid
Scientific Name: Lamprologus leleupi. Named after an entomologist, Leleup, who first caught the fish.
Synonym: Neolamprologus leleupi
Origin: Lake Tanganyika, Africa (particularly the northwest section, Luhanga and the eastern shore).
Size: 10cm
Sex Differences: Difficult to sex. Males are larger, with slightly larger fins, and develop a cranial hump with age. They can also be more aggressive.
Temperature: 23
pH: 7.0 Hardness: 12
Tank Size: 60 x 30 x 30cm or larger. Prefers a tank with a fine, sandy substrate and needs rock formations to provide many hiding places.
Food: Will eat flake and other dried foods but need plenty of live foods such as daphnia, cyclops, bloodworms, whiteworms etc. to look their best. In the wild they feed on shrimps, crustaceans and insect larvae.

This lovely cichlid is bright yellow all over with blue eyes. In the wild, it lives in very deep water and is not commonly found above 40 metres depth. This means there can be problems with decompression when fishing for it.

All cichlids are very sensitive to sudden extreme changes of pressure. Nervous exhaustion or shock stops them from adjusting their air bladder quickly enough to the lesser pressure. The swim bladder expands, stops blood from circulating through the back end of the body, pushes the bowels through the gullet and, in very bad cases, then explodes. Because of this problem, most L leleupi are collected in small numbers when found nearer the surface.

A relatively peaceful species, the male may become aggressive towards extra, or undesirable, females.

When breeding was first achieved in the late &
There are two scientifically described official species found in different parts of Lake Tanganyika, N. leleupi and N longior. The latter species has a slightly longer body and is more orange. It was originally a subspecies of N leleupi and experts are still arguing over whether they are different species or not. Another former subspecies N. leleupi melas, is now regarded by most as just a colour form. All three of these turn up for sale every now in Britain and then and although more populations exist, they do not seem to have been imported. Which of them we get in NZ, I don&
As well as the water conditions listed at the beginning of this article, lemon cichlids also need excellent water quality. Water must be well oxygenated with no ammonia or nitrite and nitrates must be less than 25ppm. Nitrate levels above this will not kill the fish but it will make them very unhappy, sick, disinclined to breed, and it will shorten their lifespan.

Since these fish are cave dwellers, make sure they have plenty to hide in. Breeding these fish is very difficult and I do not know if anyone has managed it in NZ.
To breed these fish you, of course, need at least one of each sex. This is your first difficulty as it is so hard to tell the boys form the girls. Buy several and hope two pair up. They will pair only as long as they are breeding and tending fry. Within their caves they will need smooth rock to lay their eggs on. Keep the surrounding rockwork dark and the lighting low as this will make the fish feel safer. It will also make their colour stand out more.

Feed the pair well on live foods and wait. Do not muck around with their tank décor, or disturb them (even for maintenance) any more than necessary, as the slightest disturbance will upset them.

It may take up to a year for any fry to appear. When they do, they can feed on newly hatched brine shrimp or microworm. If the parents have kept them well hidden for a while before you see them, they can eat larger stuff.

After about 3 or 4 weeks, the fry start to develop bit of independence and drift away from the cave. Remove them at this stage and put them in a rearing tank which has identical water conditions.

Practical Fishkeeping magazine says there is an information booklet on these species. It is put out by the British Cichlid Association and costs 50p + SAE from BCA Sales (PFK), 29 Peppers Green, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 3DA. Wasn&
References:
- Practical Fishkeeping magazine July &- Baensch Aquarium Atlas; R Rieh and H A Baensch.
- Cichlids and all the other fishes of Lake Tanganyika; Pierre Brichard

Note: This article first appeared in 'Aquarium World' November 1998