Altolamprologus fasciatus

Altolamprologus fasciatus

At first glance, Altolamprologus fasciatus does not look like its well-known cousin Altolamprologus calvus. Its shape is much more pointed and slimmer when viewed from the side. Its body does show the strongly flattened shape that enables this species to hunt for young brood in very narrow cracks and crevices. Just like the calvus, it is a very fierce predator. It can extend its mouth to suck young cichlids from the crevices. They reach a maximum total length of 16 centimeters.

The ground color of the Altolamprologus fasciatus is white/pale yellow with nine darker transverse bands surmounted by a blue iridescent glow. The bright blue eyes are also striking. The dorsal and anal fin extend quite far and almost merge into the tail fin, which is almost semicircular. On the gill covers they have small yellow spots that are slightly more noticeable in males. The difference between males and females is otherwise difficult to see. The males do get a little bigger.

Biotope

The Altolamprologus fasciatus is found throughout Lake Tanganyika, although they are more common in some areas than in others. They mainly occur in relatively shallow water along the rocky coast and in transition areas to sand.

The Aquarium

To keep Altolamprologus fasciatus you need an aquarium of at least 150 centimeters in length. The decoration of the aquarium must consist of sufficient rocks with many (small) cracks and crevices in between. The males are quite aggressive with other fasciatus males, so it is best to keep one male with one or more females. Other species are generally left alone.

Diet

In nature, mainly small fish, shrimps and other crustaceans are on the menu. They do well in the aquarium on a diet of alternating cichlid pellets, mysis, cyclops, krill, shrimp and white mosquito.

Breeding

Breeding the Altolamprologus fasciatus in the aquarium is not easy. The female must find a crevice where she can deposit her eggs, but which the male cannot reach because he is slightly larger than the female. The male leaves his sperm at the entrance to the hole or crevice, the female ensures that it ends up with the eggs. There have been successful breedings in the aquarium using large shells.

Video

Author

John de Lange

Copyright images

Matthijs Meindertsma