Elongate lamprologus

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a big, torpedo-shaped predator, one of the more aggressive Tanganyikan cichlids, and it is best kept alone or with company too large to be eaten. It hunts through the middle and lower water, stalking and then rushing its prey. It will swallow any tankmate it can fit in its mouth, so choose companions with great care: only large, sturdy fish, and never small ones, which simply become food. Feed meaty foods, good pellets, and frozen or fresh items such as mysis, prawn and the occasional larger morsel, without turning it into a fatty feeder-fish diet. A single adult needs a long tank of at least 450 liters, and more is better, with hard, alkaline water and rock cover.

In the wild

Lepidiolamprologus elongatus patrols the rocky shorelines of Lake Tanganyika as a top predator, cruising open water near cover and darting into the rocks after smaller fish. Give it a long tank with substantial rockwork and clear swimming lanes over a sand floor. Match the lake with hard, alkaline water, around 24 to 27 C at a pH from 7.8 to 9, and strong filtration to carry the load of a large, meat-eating fish.

Good to know

This is a cichlid, the pike of the lamprologine group in the family Cichlidae, reaching about 32 centimeters on a long, spear-shaped body marked with dark stripe rows. It is a cave spawner that hides its eggs in a sheltered crevice and guards the fry, but pairing two large, aggressive predators safely is tricky, so aquarium breeding is hard.

Did you know

It hunts by stealth, hanging almost still in the water and then striking, and it is one of the main predators that keeps the smaller rock-dwelling cichlids of its shoreline constantly wary.

Common questions

Related species

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  Kendall's lamprologus

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• 

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• 

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