Shelldweller from Lake Tanganyika
There are several species of shelldwellers in lake Tanganyika, but this one is definitely my favorite, Lamprologus ocellatus. Shelldwellers are maybe not the most colorful fish form the lake but they make up for this lack of color trough their really interesting behavior. The Lamprologus ocellatus is a small fish of about 4 to 6 centimeters ( about 2 inches ) but they can easily be kept in community tanks with much larger fish, I keep them in my community Tanganyika tank with nearly adult Frontosa's without a problem. If a big Frontosa comes to close they will attack it, most of the time the couple will atack together, and if the Frontosa comes to close they just return to their safe shell's to hide.
Like most shelldwellers the ocellatus is bound to their shells, they use it for shelter, when other fish are coming to close, but they also lay their eggs in them and use them to raise their fry. If you are interested in Cichlid behavior this little critter is one of the species to pick. It's a hardy fish, they can be kept in a community tank ( Tanganyika tank )or on their own and are rather easy to maintain, if some basic conditions are provided of course.
An in depth article about Lamprologus ocellatus on Cichlidae.com
Posted by Tinker Fish
« African Cichlid Care | Main | African Cichlids in the aquarium »
|