Spawning Neolamprologus sp. 'caudopunctatus kipili'
By Michael McKinney
from The Underwater News, Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, December 2003
Aquarticles
This is another species of Lake Tanganyikan cichlid that I have been working with
recently. As you can tell by the name this is a species of fish that has yet to be
officially named. Although it does resemble Neolamprologus quite a bit, it is
currently classified as a separate species. In Ad Konings 'Back to Nature Guide to
Tanganyika Cichlids', the author gives this fish separate mention amongst the
Neolamprologines he did include in the book. This species of fish is found along the
eastern coast of Lake Tanganyika between Fulwe Rocks and Kipili (hence the current name),
inhabiting the shallow rocky and intermediate biotopes.
This species of fish certainly resembles Neolamprologus caudopunctatus in
terms of body shape and base coloration. The visual difference is that Neolamprologus
caudopunctatus has more yellow or orange coloration in the dorsal fin and the upper
body while Neolamprologus sp. 'caudopunctatus kipili' lacks the yellow/orange and
is characterized by white coloration in the fins, especially the tip of the pectoral fins.
Other differences between the two species of fish include the fact that Neolamprologus
caudopunctatus can attain a slightly larger size and forms large breeding groups,
while Neolamprologus sp. 'caudopunctatus kipili' does not. Both species of fish
are cave spawners.
I acquired two wild pairs of Neolamprologus sp. 'caudopunctatus kipili' at the
end of last year. At the time I was only able to house the pairs in the same 30-gallon
aquarium. Before long it was necessary to remove the weaker of the two males. After
removing the weaker battered male to another tank, he hung on for a few days before
succumbing to his injuries. The remaining trio did fine in the tank for a few months. At
one point, for a reason still unknown to me, I lost one of the two females. Was not as a
result of aggression as best I could tell. The loss of the one female seemingly went
unnoticed by the remaining pair.
Knowing that the species is a cave brooder, I placed a few different types of spawning
locations into the tank for the pair to choose from. The first was a clay spawning cave.
The second was about a half dozen large sized shells, those typically used to spawn Altolamprologus.
And the third was 'artificial' caves made up of small PVC elbows and end caps. I simply
placed an end cap on the end of each elbow and placed them into the tank. About 8 - 10 of
these PVC caves were placed into the tank. It was quickly apparent that the pair favored
these PVC contraptions. In fact I ended up removing the shells and clay cave to use with
other fish in other tanks. The female took up residence in one of the PVC caves that was
located in the rear right of the tank. The male never claimed a PVC pipe, instead choosing
to hang out under the sponge filter that was only a few inches away from the female's PVC
lair.
The tank itself contained a pair of sponge filters and about an inch of medium sized
gravel. I used the gravel to bury the end of the PVC elbows that were capped, leaving the
open end of the PVC elbow about ¼" above the substrate. The tank was maintained with
a temperature between 78 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a pH of about 8.0, and hardness level of
125 ppm KH. Water changes were made roughly once a week with 25 -30% of the water being
replaced. A steady and mixed diet of frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, and flake
food was provided. An occasional helping of freeze-dried krill was also offered. Under
these environmental and dietary conditions, my pair did very well.
Not long after I lost the second female, I noticed that the female looked a little
'lighter', like she had not eaten in a few days. She was also spending much more time down
in her chosen PVC cave. A couple days after noticing this, I also noticed that the pair
had excavated a shallow pit in the gravel on the right hand side of the tank. The pit was
not very deep, just deep enough to allow me to notice that they had done some
redecorating. And then a couple days after the pit was dug, a cloud of fry could be
noticed in the pit. The fry were offered a diet of baby brine shrimp and white worms,
which they accepted greedily.
The pair is now spawning regularly, but the first couple spawns did not yield very good
results. Only one fry made it out of the first spawn and only two on the second spawn. I
now am about 3 - 4 weeks past the third spawn and there I still at least four dozen young
from the spawn. I never noticed the parents eating the young on the first two spawns, but
the easy and obvious assumption is that they did. The three young from the first two
spawns are still in the thirty-gallon tank with the adult pair on the young fry from the
third spawn. No issues to date with this arrangement. The young vary from about ¾"
(first spawn) to ¼" (third spawn) and everyone is doing fine. Knowing that this
species does not form breeding groups like Neolamprologus caudopunctatus, I am
watchful of the older fry. My assumption is that the parents are tolerating them now but
will treat them differently as they reach breeding size. I am sure I will need to remove
them in the future. All-in-all this is a very interesting fish that I would recommend to
anyone.
Literature cited: Konings, Ad, 1996. Back to Nature Guide to Tanganyika Cichlids.
Fohrman Aquaristik AB. Pg 70.
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