Striped telmatochromis

Care at a glance

Overview

A pair fits in a tank of about 75 liters furnished with rocks and a scatter of empty snail shells. Keep the water hard and alkaline at 24 to 27 C, pH 7.8 to 9.0. It is fairly peaceful but defends its shell or crevice, especially when breeding. Feed small frozen and dry foods such as cyclops, brine shrimp and fine pellets.

In the wild

This small elongated cichlid lives around rocks and empty snail shells in Lake Tanganyika. It has a cream body crossed by dark horizontal stripes. It uses both rock cracks and discarded shells as shelter and spawning sites.

Good to know

Telmatochromis vittatus is a facultative shell user, meaning it will breed in an empty snail shell or a rock crevice depending on what is available. Pairs spawn secretly, with the female laying eggs on the wall of the cave or shell. Some large males use a sneaky strategy, slipping in to fertilize eggs guarded by smaller males.

Did you know

Big males of this species sometimes skip guarding a nest and instead sneak into other males' shells to fertilize eggs, a shortcut biologists call sneaker spawning.

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