Neolamprologus brichardi (the cool cichlid)

[Aries]

AKA Lamprologus brichardi, Princess of Burundi, Lamprologus elongatus, Neolamprologus elongatus, Lamprologus savoryi elongatus.


I was wondering what the recommended minimum tank for these are. I was wanting to get some (1 m, 1 f) in a 30G or 29G. Yet I have read in some places 29G min is good up to 45G min.

What would be best

Thanks

Aries

[optix]

I was lookin to do a 29 tanganyikan tank and asked in here recently about a setup for that, and I was reffered to have a pair of them along with some julie's and a leulupi

[GobyGuy5]

Say, from the wording of optix's post:


I was reffered to have a pair of them along with some julie's and a leulupi

It would sound like brichardis do better in pairs, is this so?

[Aries]

I believe that is correct, that they do better in pairs. Apparently they are somewhat easy to breed for they take very good care of their fry. Further, their fry take care of younger fry.

But I still do not know much about them.

HTH

[Kit Walker]

I keep a breeding pair in a 15G setup. They produce fry every few weeks. They are very territorial, and if you wish to keep more 2 breeding pairs you will need at least a 3ft or 4 ft tank. My tank mimics a rocky Lake Tang shoreline. For substrate I use 50% fine gravel and 50 crushed shell. I use an Eheim Liberty rated higher than for the tank, and I do small water changes sparingly. Lake Tangs do not like large water changes, so filtration is important. I also have plants to assist in nitrate control. They really appreciate bloodworms as a treat. Three generations can live together, bit if overcrowded the parents will start to kill of juveniles. I transfer my fry to a grow out tank once they reach 1cm.

[GobyGuy5]

so they do better in pairs, but if you've got a pair, they require space, so you'd need a 3-4 foot tank if other fish were going to be in there with them right?

[Kit Walker]

You can keep 2 breeding pairs in a 3 or 4 ft tank given plenty of breeding structures at opposing ends of the tank. You can also keep other fish given the condition that they are strictly mid to top dwellers. The brichardi's won't tolerate other bottom dwellers (except probably Synodontis). A good dither fish is any of the Poeciliids (eg Swordtail, Platies) because they thrive in the alkaline conditions and are top dwellers. However, there is a possibility that dither fish will have to be removed when the brichardi's breed, as their aggression can become excessive.

[electricyellow]

I have been breeding neolamprologus for many years now and i found them to tolerate 'confined' spaces fairly well. You could keep the breeding pair in as little as a 10 gallon, but as the fry will practice sibling cannibalism, you should switch out the older fry as new eggs are laid. By you removing some of the fry, the parents feel the 'need' to 'repopulate' and shortly, you have new fry. If you don't want to go through the trouble of transfering fry I would recommend a 29-55 gallon tank. The longer the better with lots of rocks and stones everywhere. If you try to breed them in a 10 make sure you place a clay flower pot, that has been water treated, in there. The female will think it the best place in the world to keep her fry. Once those fry are large enough, they will actually defend their younger siblings. It is amazing to watch, alot better than any family units i've seen in humans. Good luck with the brichardi, if your good to them, they'll be good to you.:cool:

[Aries]

Thanks alot people. Now that I know what size I can use, I will put them in my 29G (or maybe sell back my Zebras in my 30G and put them in there.).


I am assuming the neolamprologus will not thrive well with Zebras? I have one male and 2 female. The male is very aggressive towards the females, but not the other 5 SAE.


Thanks again

Aries

[VoodooChild]

I kept a pair of brichardi and a pair of lelupi just fine in a 30 gallon. There was an unseen line that the others never crossed in the middle.

[delmore]

See:

http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Lamprologus-lelupi.html

Some of the lelupi can be VERY aggressive.

[VoodooChild]

That's weeeeird. All the lelupi I've owned were like sheep.