Marungu cichlid

Neolamprologus marunguensis

Also known as Lamprologus marunguensis, Blue-fin marunguensis, White tip cichlid

FreshwaterFish

Marungu cichlid (Neolamprologus marunguensis) — 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: 2.8 in (7 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Tanganyika, Marungu coast
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

A small lyretail cichlid from Lake Tanganyika that lives in colonies, so keep a group and let pairs form and claim caves within it. It hovers just above the rocks in the lower and middle water, generally peaceful except right around a nest, and it fits well in a community of other calm Tanganyikan fish. It feeds on tiny invertebrates and zooplankton, so offer small frozen and prepared foods. A colony does nicely in about 110 liters or more with a good stack of rock and many small caves.

In the wild

Neolamprologus marunguensis lives over rocky rubble along the Marungu coast in the southwest of Lake Tanganyika, usually fairly deep, from about 25 to 35 meters. Build it a tank of piled rock with plenty of small caves and crevices over a sand floor. The lake is hard, alkaline and oxygen-rich, so keep the pH between 7.8 and 9 and the temperature around 24 to 27 C, with clean water and steady filtration.

Good to know

This species belongs to the Cichlidae and reaches only about 7 centimeters, one of the smaller members of the brichardi group of fairy cichlids, with a deeply forked tail edged in pale blue over a grey-bronze body. It is a cave-spawning substrate breeder rather than a mouthbrooder, and it breeds at medium difficulty, often as a colony where older young help tend later broods.

Did you know

It is essentially a pocket version of the well-known princess and fairy cichlids of Lake Tanganyika, showing the same lyre-shaped tail and colony living as its more famous relatives but in one of the smallest bodies in the whole group.

Tank mates

Marungu cichlid is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.