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Try ‘em you’ll like ‘em
The ndobhoi are “pretty” fish in an understated way, graceful in the way they
glide around the rocks interspersed with amazingly quick bursts of speed and
are appealing in the way they protect their babies against all comers.
I highly recommend them to anyone able to provide a suitable rocky
Tanganyikan aquascape for them.
Husbandry Details
Size:
Males: 10-13cm; Females: 9-11cm
Water Conditions: Lake Tanganyikan
(Ph: 8.0 – 9.0, temperature: 24-27C, Gh, 9-19dH)
Taxonomy:
Species: Chalinochromis sp. ndobhoi
Genus: Chalinochromis
family: Cichlidae
Aggression:
To Conspecifics: mildly aggressive at various stages of their breeding
cycle but they protect a fairly small zone so in a tank of reasonable size it
should be easy for the victim to escape. Keep lids tightly shut as they can be
very quick and will jump when frightened. I keep some floating tubes of ag-pipe
in
the
tank
which
they
sometimes
use
for
protection.
Other species: will protect the immediate vicinity of their nest against even
significantly larger species and seem to consider some Julidochromis as
conspecifics but I’ve seen no other aggression.
Food:
Not fussy at all, adults eat pretty much any flake or pellets up to 1mm. In the
lake they pick over the biocover for sponges, invertebrates and algae.
Fry take readily to baby brine shrimp (including freeze dried decapsulated bbs
when I don’t have fresh bbs available) and crushed flake. I usually feed using a
large syringe to keep the tiny food particles in and around the rock surface
rather than all through the tank.