"Jim Anderson" wrote in message
et...
In article ,
says...
snip and who thrive in my soft water. snip

Neighbor gave me a 36 inch 30 gallon (they kept killing all their fish)
and I started setting up a Lake Tanganyika community tank. First fish I
found were Neolamprologus brichardi and added a pair. Before I could get
any more fish, they mated (after only a week), they were only 1.5
inches. They were great parents, about 50 fry suvived. Two weeks later
another batch. They are a stratified breeder, they care for multiple fry
batches and the older fry protect the younger fry. Never did get the
other Neolamprologus Shell Dwellers I wanted. The Shell dwellers are
micro cichlids averaging only 1-2 inches.
http://www.cichlids.com/gallery/Neolamprologus_brichardi
http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/shell_species.htm


N. brichardi are very prolific and an attractive fish. I don't think you'll
get anything else into that thirty gallon tank of yours. They are very
territorial and protective once they start mating. I had a pair keep six
frontosa, a pair of julies and three A. calvus on one side of a 55 gallon
tank, while they held the other side. The OP was looking for soft water
cichlids however. N. brichardi require hard alkaline water. Many of the
original species that were brought over from Lake Tanganyika were kept in
soft water and were short lived. The importers thought they had the same
water requirements as the riverine species they'd been importing.
Tim

www.fishaholics.org