Roberts' limbochromis

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a rare, conservation-grade dwarf cichlid, kept as a single fish or a bonded pair that holds a small rock territory on the bottom. Pairs are mostly peaceful but defend a spawning site closely, so give calm tankmates, plenty of stone and wood, and enough broken cover for the pair to settle. It feeds low down on small invertebrates and detritus, so offer frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, and a fine sinking food. It stays under about 10 centimeters, so a pair fits around 110 liters, and keepers who log and share their broods do real good for the species.

In the wild

It lives only in rocky forest streams in the headwaters of the Birim River, part of the Pra basin in Ghana's gold-mining country. Recreate that with a base of rounded stone and sand, driftwood, and shaded cover, with clean, well-oxygenated water and steady flow. Keep the temperature around 23 to 27 C and the water on the soft side of neutral, roughly pH 6 to 7.2, and keep it clean and stable.

Good to know

Limbochromis robertsi is a cichlid of the family Cichlidae, reaching about 9.5 centimeters, and the only species in its genus, restricted to a handful of streams in Ghana. It is a cave or crevice spawner of moderate difficulty, a pair guarding eggs and fry together. The species name honors the ichthyologist Tyson Roberts, who collected the specimens it was described from.

Did you know

It is a species running out of room: gold mining and farming have muddied its few Ghanaian streams and cut its wild numbers sharply, so the fish kept and bred by hobbyists are quietly becoming a backup population.

Common questions

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