Caudopunctatus cichlid

Neolamprologus caudopunctatus is a small, adaptable cichlid from the transition zone between rock and sand in southern Lake Tanganyika. Silvery-grey with a pale blue eye and an attractive yellow-orange edge to the dorsal fin, it excavates pits beneath rocks and readily uses empty shells for breeding, blending shell-dwelling and rock-dwelling habits. It is a good beginner Tanganyikan: hardy, active and only moderately territorial, becoming feisty mainly when guarding fry. Keep a pair or small group in a tank with a sand substrate, piles of flat rock forming caves, and some shells. Water should be hard, alkaline and warm with strong carbonate buffering. Diet is largely carnivorous; offer frozen cyclops, mysis, brine shrimp and a quality cichlid pellet, with occasional Spirulina. It coexists well with other small to medium Tanganyikans that do not compete directly for the same substrate territory.