Black ocellatus

Lamprologus speciosus

Also known as Black ocellatus shell dweller

FreshwaterFish

Black ocellatus (Lamprologus speciosus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–81°F (24–27°C)
pH: 7.8–9.0
Adult size: 2.2 in (5.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Easy
Rarity: Common
Origin: Lake Tanganyika
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

Black ocellatus are shell dwellers, and a colony of four to six will run a 40 liter tank on its own. Each fish claims one escargot shell, digs a crater around it, and defends that patch against anything that comes close, including fish many times its size. Give them at least twice as many shells as fish so disputes have somewhere to go. Feed small frozen and live foods, cyclops, daphnia and brine shrimp, plus a fine sinking pellet. They breed readily in the shell and the fry stay in the colony.

In the wild

Lamprologus speciosus lives on the open sand flats of Lake Tanganyika, in beds of empty Neothauma snail shells that give the sand its only cover. The lake is hard and alkaline year round and very stable, which is the part most tanks get wrong. Keep it at 24 to 27 degrees Celsius and pH 7.8 to 9.0 over fine sand deep enough to dig in.

Good to know

Lamprologus speciosus reaches about 5.5 centimeters and is the dusky counterpart of the gold ocellatus, dark brown to near black with faint barring and blue-edged fins. It is a substrate brooder that spawns inside the shell, the female tending eggs down in the whorl while the male guards the crater above. Breeding is straightforward once a pair settles, and a colony will usually produce without any intervention.

Did you know

It buries its shell to the rim and turns the entrance to face danger, a homeowner who landscapes for defense.

Tank mates

Black ocellatus is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.