Blue Neon

Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, the Blue Neon, is a slender, elegant cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika, where it hovers in loose shoals along rocky slopes and cave ceilings, often swimming belly-up beneath overhangs. Males display shimmering iridescent blue lines along the body and fins. It is peaceful and shy, best kept in a group of at least eight in a tall, rock-structured tank with fellow Tanganyikans such as shell-dwellers or calm Julidochromis. Hard, alkaline water is essential: pH around 8.3 to 9.0, high carbonate hardness, and stable temperatures of 24 to 27 C. In nature it feeds on zooplankton, so offer small live and frozen foods like cyclops, artemia and finely crushed flake. Provide open swimming space and dim, calm surroundings to see natural behaviour.