Neolamprologus pulcher “Daffodil II”
by Lenny Llambi
First published in Fincinnati, the official newsletter of the Greater Cincinnati
Aquarium Society
Aquarticles
When I first started keeping tropical fish as a young child, I often marveled at a fish
many stores identified as the “brichardi” cichlid. The fish may not have been
colored with the spectacular coloration of the Malawi Peacocks or the Victorian Haps, but
what it lacked in flashy color the “brichardi” made up for in grace. Since those
early days, I’ve kept many different fish, but for some reason I never fulfilled that
childhood dream. About a decade later, I started a job that allowed me to keep a small
tank in my laboratory. As I was pouring through my aquatic library, searching for the
perfect lab partner, I came across an article about the newest reorganization of the
“brichardi” species complex. I was instantly attracted to the fish the author
referred to as Neolamprologus pulcher “Daffodil”. The next day, I
started surfing the internet for more information on the fish. To my astonishment, a
fellow GCAS member was offering Neolamprologus pulcher “Daffodil II”
fry for sale. Finally, I would be able to keep one of the elegant members of the
“brichardi” species complex.
Before I go into the specifics of my personal experience with the Daffodil II, I would
like to share some background information on the Daffodil II. First, I would like to
explain the curious nomenclature attached to this fish. Traditionally, African cichlid
color morphs are identified by attaching the part of the lake that the fish are found,
after the scientific name. According to my sources, these fish were given the name
“Daffodil II”, so that the importer would not have to divulge the exact location
in Lake Tanganyika where these fish flock. Although the original Daffodil is considered a
color morph of Neolamprologus pulcher, since the Daffodil II was named for
commercial reasons, I believe either Neolamprologus pulcher “Daffodil
II” or Neolamprologus sp. “Daffodil II” are acceptable names until
further scientific studies are conducted on this fish.
It seems as though when dealing with African cichlids, hobbyists deal with extremes.
They either keep open water cichlids, or cichlids that never leave the security of the
rocks. However, when dealing with Neolamprologus pulcher, the hobbyist is dealing
with a fish that embraces both extremes. These fish travel in large flocks in the open
waters of Lake Tanganyika, feeding on the drifting plankton. However, once a pair of fish
are ready to spawn, they vehemently defend the secure cave they choose to raise their
young. This marked distinction from the majority of Tanganyikans is directly tied to these
fish’s family, breeding behavior. N. pulcher, and all of its color morphs,
exhibit very interesting breeding behavior called stepped breeding. This means that once
the parents raise a clutch of fry and are prepared to spawn again, the juveniles from the
prior clutch stay behind to help raise their younger siblings. The large flocks of N.
pulcher are actually large family groups. In these flocks, the breeding pair can be
found in the center of the group, and the youngest juveniles will be left to reside near
the exterior of the flock. When one member of the breeding pair passes on, the next
dominant member of the flock takes its place.
The Daffodil II reaches an adult length of up to 4-5 inches. Its caudal fin is a
lyre-tail shape, and there is a thin, ice blue fringe along all of its fins. The
body’s coloration is an amalgamation of yellow and bluish-purple spots on a tan body
with yellow highlights at the base of the pectoral fin and a splash of blue on the
operculum. All fish considered part of the “brichardi” species complex have two
black bars located on the operculum, which according to their orientation, differentiates
one species from another. The Daffodil II has two parallel, vertical bars both crescent
shape. The male fish is slightly longer and a lot thicker than the female, and he will
have a slightly enlarged forehead (no rival for other male Tanganyikans such as C.
frontosa).
I initially purchased seven fry for my 29-gallon tank from fellow GCAS member Laura
Boyle. The tank had been up and running for about a week before I added the small school
of fry. A UGF powered with two Aquaclear 1000 powerheads filtered the water through about
30 pounds of CaribSea Authentic rift lake substrate. The aquarium was decorated with
various pieces of slate, lace, and local lime rock stacked over top of a perforated, PVC
base. Weekly 25% water changes kept Ammonia and nitrite at 0, and Nitrate at <25 ppm.
The tank’s pH was maintained at 8.3 and dH at about 12.
About a week after the initial school of fry was added to the aquarium, Laura offered
me another four fish to ensure I got at least one pair out of the group. The fry ranged
from a mere ½ ” to a whopping 1 ½ ”. The larger fish quickly began
establishing territories all over the tank while the younger siblings seemingly tagged
along with their elder brothers and sisters. After about 3-4 weeks about three-fourths of
the fry were already developing at least some of their adult coloration. Unfortunately,
the next time I performed a water change, I filled the tank a little too high (up to the
light shield) and Monday morning I came in to find all of the fry suffocated. Despite this
tragedy, I was able to acquire the wild-caught parents of the fry, and finally I would be
able to spawn these beautiful fish.
When I first picked up the parents, Laura made the comment that the female was looking
a little chubby, and that she may be egg-laden. I didn’t worry too much about her
observation, because I thought that the stress of relocating the fish would override the
will to spawn. I acclimated the fish (Laura also threw in a fry from previous spawn), and
within an hour the three had selected the deepest cave as their headquarters. I fed them a
mixture of staple, Spirulina, and Brine Shrimp flake food supplemented with a variety
Hikari’s Bio-Pure frozen foods. I fed the fish small portions several times per day,
and even then I would find the adults snacking on the live ramshorn snails that shared the
tank with them. The next Friday, I hooked up my Python to perform a water change, and the
next time I looked at its progress I found about half the water gone. I quickly stopped
the siphon, filled the tank back up, packed up my supplies, and left for the weekend.
Monday morning I noticed that whenever I fed the tank, only two of the fish would come out
and eat. As the day progressed, I started to notice that only two fish were visible at any
time, all the time. By about four in the afternoon, my curiosity had peaked, and as soon
as I pressed my nose against the glass, I saw one tiny fry that was not yet free-swimming.
Using a flashlight, I was able to find about four or five.
Once the fish were free-swimming, I fed the newborn fish microworms, until they were
about a week old when I began offering finely crushed flake, and frozen daphnia. At this
point I noticed more eggs. Laura had mentioned these fish were prolific, but despite this
advice I convinced myself these were snail eggs. The eggs were gone the next morning, and
I noticed a couple more tiny fry hugging the rocks. After a few days I realized that there
were a total of five babies, one short to qualify for BAP points. I was certain these fish
had some sort of BAP vendetta against me.
The next Monday, I performed a water change in the morning, and by three in the
afternoon, I was amazed to find the parents laying a third clutch of eggs. The female laid
the eggs along the inside of a piece of PVC, and the male fertilized them, as she laid.
Once the final egg was laid, I immediately added Nox-Ich to the water (using one drop per
gallon daily), and watched as the two adults and eldest sibling took turns fanning the
eggs. Almost exactly 48 hours after they laid the eggs, the 42 tan eggs began to hatch.
Once these fry hatched, they slipped out of sight for about 48 hours until they became
free-swimming. Although the parents were very watchful of their offspring, they did not
actively herd the young, like other cichlids. Instead, all of the fish hovered around a
cave where everyone knew to flock, if anyone walked by the tank.
I had been delivering the microworms to the two prior broods with a pipette. However,
now that there were about twenty-five fry that were getting very curious and gutsy, this
was not necessary. Instead I scooped up a small, grape-sized portion of microworms onto a
toothbrush, and swished them free in the aquarium. This size portion would keep the fry
occupied all day long. As I mentioned before, these fish feed on plankton in Lake
Tanganyika, and this became even more evident, whenever I fed the young microworms. The
young would find a strong current to swim against and let the drifting worms come to them.
This feeding behavior is oddly reminiscent of the feeding behavior exhibited by the
saltwater anthias species. Another interesting comparison between these two
groups of fish is that both have lyre-tailed caudal fins and both flock in very large
schools. Evolutionary biologists call this phenomenon, whereby two geographically isolated
species develop similar characteristics, convergent evolution.
Although I finally got my BAP points, the story ends sadly, as both parents died after
they raised this final brood. The male mysteriously disappeared after about a week, and I
watched the female take her last breath about three weeks later. This may sound hokey (or
maybe familiar), but I felt so bad about all of the misfortunes I put this magnificent
species through, that I promised my young lab partners a 75 gallon tank in my fish room.
Although my experience with these fish was riddled with obstacles, their grace and superb
behavior truly fulfilled that long lost childhood dream, and I’m sure even the most
experienced hobbyist will draw just as much pleasure from breeding them.
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