CICHLIDS OF LAKE TANGANYIKA.
Order Perciformes
Family Cichlidae
Subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae
Genus Cyprichromis
— Cyprichromis leptosoma [Boulenger, 1898]. Synonyms: Paratilapia, Limnochromis leptosoma. (English: Bright Finned Slender Cichlid, Leptosoma Cichlid, Sardine Cichlid, Slender Cichlid). Lake Tanganyika, live in very large shoals. Males come in two sizes – standard ones usually reach up to 9 cm in length, the Jumbo subspecies grows larger up to 12 cm, females are slightly smaller. The body is elongated, spindle-shaped. They have a straight mouth that extends far forward, which helps easily catch zooplankton.
The coloration of males can be ranked among the most beautiful of all cichlids. Males usually have more attractive colored fins. They vary in color schemes, including black, yellow, blue, neon blue, white, aquamarine. Females are the complete opposite and have a plain silvery-gray outfit, just like the growing juveniles. The body of adult males is grayish-blue to dark blue with a lilac sheen.
The dorsal and anal fins are almost black with a blue border. The tail is yellow-orange, edged with bluish-purple strokes. When excited, 3-4 wide dark transverse stripes appear on the body. In females, the coloration is less intense, usually gray with a metallic sheen, yellowish dorsal fins, and a colorless tail. In fry, the dorsal fins are bright yellow.
The features distinguishing representatives of the Cyprichromis leptosoma species group from the Cyprichromis leptosoma “jumbo” species group are a more shortened, slender body with flat sides and the presence (almost always) of blue coloration on the head and shoulder region. Adult males develop a fairly large forehead and expanded jaws.
There are many different geographic variants, each having males with yellow, red, or blue caudal fins. Along with blue-tailed and yellow-tailed males, color variations can occur in the dorsal fin. One of the few varieties in Lake Tanganyika that has a large number of color morphs. Color morphs: — C. leptosoma “Bulu Point” – The upper part of the head of representatives of this morph has a blue glow – “fluoresces”, often this blue glow also passes to the back; — C. leptosoma “Giant Mbita” – Practically solid yellow male;
— C. leptosoma “Goldfin” – characterized by a rather large body (clearly larger than C. sp. leptosoma “Jumbo”), and yellow dorsal and anal fins in mature, sexually active males. There are males with yellow or blue coloration of the caudal fin, and some of the blue-tailed males have a golden head coloration. Yellow-tailed males resemble light-blue morphs of sp. leptosoma “Jumbo”, but do not have dark pigmentation in the hard-rayed area of the dorsal fin; — C. leptosoma “Ikola” – There are two forms of this variety: yellow-tailed and blue-tailed. Yellow-tailed males are characterized by a bright yellow, uniformly shiny anal fin. The tips of the ventral fins are yellow. Blue-tailed males have a yellow dorsal fin;
— C. leptosoma “Isanga” – To date, three color variations of this morph have been discovered: Blue-tailed, with yellow pigment on the back (about 15% of the total number of individuals), blue-tailed, with a bright blue back (15%), and yellow-tailed, dorsal fin blue with yellow pigment at the base (70%); — C. leptosoma “Kabogo” – The upper part of the head has a blue glow – “fluoresces”, often this blue glow also passes to the back; — C. leptosoma “Karilani” – There are two forms of this variety: yellow-tailed and blue-tailed. The body of this cichlid shimmers with shiny shades of blue and yellow tones. They resemble the “Malasa” race, but the yellow form does not have a yellow spot on the dorsal fin. The blue form has a distinct dark-blue spot in the caudal part of the dorsal fin and an orange-yellow body;
— C. leptosoma “Kekese” – Males of all color variations of this morph have a black or yellow spot in the soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin, and the ventral fins are edged with yellow tips; — C. leptosoma “Kigoma” – Dark spots on the dorsal fin. Yellow head. There are two forms of this variety: yellow-tailed and blue-tailed. Yellow-tailed males have a blue dorsal fin, but without a yellow spot. Blue-tailed males have blue dorsal and anal fins with small dark dots. The throat and front part of the torso are orange;
— C. leptosoma “Malasa” – There are two forms of this variety: yellow-tailed and blue-tailed. The dorsal fin is blue in both forms. Yellow-tailed males have a blue dorsal fin with a yellow spot at the end, in the soft-ray area. Blue-tailed males have a bluish dorsal fin and sometimes a black spot in the back of the dorsal fin. Females and juveniles have barely noticeable, rare vertical dark stripes on the body, and females also have a small dark spot in the soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin. In males, this spot is clearer and, as a rule, black or yellow;
— C. leptosoma “Mpulungu” or “Blue Flash” – There are two forms of this variety: yellow-tailed and blue-tailed. The dorsal fin of the yellow form is blue with a black stripe at the base and a black pattern over the entire area, the ventral fins are black with light yellow tips. The head and back are colored pearlescent-blue, the body is gray-steel. The caudal fin and the base of the tail are yellow-orange. In fish of the blue-tailed form, the body and fins are colored in blue tones. The tips of the ventral fins are light. The dorsal fin is variegated with small black dots. The spawning coloration of an adult yellow-tailed male is simply magnificent: a bright orange-yellow tail and base of the caudal fin, black ventral fins with yellowish tips, a gray-steel body shimmering with blue metal on the back, head, gill covers, and sometimes on the flanks. The dorsal fin is fluorescent blue with a black pattern. Females have a metallic body, a delicate orange pattern on transparent dorsal and anal fins;
— C. leptosoma “Utinta Red Tail” – Males have a blue body background and red-orange tails, and quite often the red color also passes to the rear part of the body. The blue body background is perhaps darker than that of the C. leptosoma “Mpulungu” morph, but no less effectively contrasting with the color of the tail. The color of the caudal fin strongly depends on the quality of food. At the end of the upper fin, a yellow-orange spot with a black “blotch” is noticeable. In many males, they are not always noticeable, as they are visible only when the dorsal fin is raised. If the fish is in a bad mood or frightened, vertical dark stripes become noticeable. The ventral fins end in light spots. Females are generally gray with a metallic sheen; — C. leptosoma “Utinta fluorescent” – The upper part of the head and back of this morph fluoresce blue, the caudal fin is colored orange, and quite often the orange color passes to the rear part of the body, in the soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin there is a spot whose upper half is yellow-orange and the lower half is black; — C. leptosoma “Yellow blue” – have a very expressive orange tail and softly colored turquoise dorsal and anal fins;
A large aquarium should be tall and contain large areas of open water. The bottom of the aquarium should have fine light sand, dark rocks reaching the water surface, and groves of Vallisneria or Elodea. By placing shells on the bottom and dividing the territory into separate areas using stones, many peaceful shell-dwelling species, Altolamprologus, and other relatively peaceful Tanganyika cichlids can be kept simultaneously.
The aquarium should be covered at the top (fish are jumpers), with plenty of swimming space; the height of the aquarium should be at least 50 cm. For successful maintenance and breeding, a shoal is needed. The fish will feel more confident, and the intraspecific aggression of the males will be less pronounced.
Exceptionally peaceful, they live wonderfully in shoals (10-20 individuals) in aquariums filled with various plants, and do not form territories. Females, even when incubating eggs, swim in small shoals. The number of males can make up more than a third of the group. During spawning, the coloration of the males becomes slightly more intense, but even in the normal period they are very brightly colored, perhaps to attract new females, since they do not form pairs. Fish occupy the upper half of the aquarium or swim in the water column and need plenty of swimming space.
They get along well in aquariums with other lake cichlids. The main thing is to provide them with an adequately sized aquarium. Neighbors should be chosen with similar habits, feeding, and temperament. When kept with rough, strong species, they cannot assert themselves and easily end up being chased. Unfortunately, Cyprichromis are very delicate and sensitive to poor water and food quality. Allergic reactions to low-quality food and the presence of heavy metals in the water quickly lead these most unique creatures to stress, hard-to-cure diseases, and death.
Feeding with cyclops, daphnia, Artemia, and other crustaceans is preferable; the fish move their extensible mouths back and forth quickly, collecting mobile small food. The mouth of these fish is specially adapted for this kind of action and extends into a “tube” when catching food items. Dry flake foods based on plant matter can be given. It is not recommended to feed bloodworms and tubifex, as their mouths are not designed for long and large food items, and the fish can choke.
They also mouthbrood their eggs. In the water column, the female spawns eggs and catches them on the fly, preventing them from falling to the bottom. A small number of fry leave the female as practically ready small fish of about 1 cm. In a large aquarium, the fish do not eat the fry; as they grow, they join the main shoal. They acquire their attractive coloration by the year of age, when they become sexually mature. pH 7.8-8.9; dH 18-30°; T 22-25°C.
— Cyprichromis leptosoma jumbo “Lunangwa” [Scheuermann, 1977]. Among the so-called “large” (jumbo) Cyprichromis, one of the recent novelties is — Cyprichromis leptosoma “jumbo lemon side”. Specimens of this variation were discovered off the coast of Congo, near the mouth of the Lunangwa River flowing into the lake. In nature and in the aquarium, fish reach approximately 12 cm.
Like all cichlids of the genus Cyprichromis, “lemon side” specimens have a strongly elongated body perfectly suited for fast swimming and any complex underwater maneuvers. In the Cyprichromis “lemon side” species, this is expressed by the appearance in the offspring of blue-tailed individuals with a bluish body sheen. The number of such individuals in the offspring is small and constitutes an insignificant fraction of the main coloration. The body of an adult male is decorated with a large, bright yellow spot elongated along the front half of the body. The yellowness also extends to the fish’s gill covers, ventral, and pectoral fins.
The general background of the body is light gray with a slight pinkish tint. The anal fin is deep dark blue with an effective white border along its edge. The caudal fin and part of the caudal peduncle are bright yellow. The coloration of the dorsal fin is especially interesting. Its color is never constant. The variability of coloration depends not only on the mood of the fish, but also on the angle of light falling on it.
From light turquoise tones, the color of the dorsal fin with a white border changes to almost white or rich blue, various shades of blue, and almost black. For aquarists, it is especially pleasing that in Cyprichromis, all males in a shoal become colored, rather than just dominant individuals. At the age of about 6-7 months, growing juveniles develop their first color spots on the body, and the caudal fin gradually turns yellow.
Other color morphs: — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Cap Tembwe” – almost every male has its own palette and coloration variant consisting of blue or yellow-orange colors. The belly is blue or yellow, with vertical stripes on the back and flanks; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Chaitika” – two color variants of males are found. The dorsal fin in both variants is blue or black-blue, the anal is black, and the tail is either yellow or blue; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Chipimbi” – have males of two colorations. With black dorsal and anal fins and either a yellow or blue caudal fin. “Yellow-tailed” males of this morph are very similar to the “yellow” males of the “Jumbo Malasa” race, but the head coloration of the latter has much more yellow tones;
— C. leptosoma “Jumbo grandiosus” – Males of this morph have a bright yellow body and fin color and a blue tail. Males of another color variation of the same population have a bluish-yellow body, ash-yellow dorsal and anal fins, light yellow ventral fins, and the caudal fin is divided into two parts: the front third is colored light yellow, and the back two-thirds are blue. The caudal fin of females of both color variations is also divided, but only into three parts: the front and back thirds are transparent, and the middle third is dark blue. Males of this species reach a length of 18 cm and are currently the largest representatives of the genus;
— C. leptosoma “Jumbo Isanga” – very similar to males of “Jumbo Kapemba”, except that among the latter there are no males with a yellow dorsal fin. In Chitul Bay, there are also yellow-finned males with a blue caudal fin. “Yellow-tailed” males have black-blue dorsal and anal fins; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Kapampa” – have yellowish-blue dorsal and anal fins and yellow or blue caudal coloration. In addition, the lower part of the head and body of sexually mature males is colored yellow-orange; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Kapemba” – has two color variants of male coloration. The dorsal and anal fins in both are colored black, and the caudal fin is either yellow or blue;
— C. leptosoma “Jumbo Kekese” – have two color variants. Black dorsal and anal fins and a yellow tail, and a “blue” variant with blue dorsal and anal fins and also a yellow tail. Characteristically, unlike other “black-finned” races, the “Kekese” variant does not have yellow pigment on the head, and “blue-finned” males do not have a dark spot in the front part of the dorsal fin, unlike the “Jumbo Mpimbwe” variant; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Kitumba” – almost every male has its own palette and coloration variant consisting of blue or yellow-orange colors. In addition, there is an albino form “Jumbo Kitumba albino”;
— C. leptosoma “Jumbo lemon side” – 11 cm. Have yellow flanks, fins in blue and blue shades, yellow caudal fin. Juveniles are predominantly steel-colored. Dorsal fin with a wide black edge along the upper margin, anal fin yellowish; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Malasa” – has two color variants of males. Yellow males (sometimes sold under the name “Jumbo Trocolor”): yellow tail, yellow head, and black anal and dorsal fins. And blue males: with a bluish dorsal fin, and yellow-blue anal and dorsal fins. A black spot in the front part of the dorsal fin;
— C. leptosoma “Jumbo Moliro” – males only with blue or yellow-blue fin coloration (males with black fins are absent). Males have a light-blue dorsal fin with yellow pigment. There is black pigment in the hard-rayed area of the dorsal fin. The caudal fin is either blue or yellow; — C. leptosoma “Jumbo Mpimbwe” – come in two color variants. Yellow form (“Jumbo Yellow Head”): black dorsal and anal fins and a yellow tail and bright yellow head. And blue form (“Jumbo Azuri”): blue body, yellow tail, and yellow caudal half of the dorsal fin, on the first hard rays of which there is also a black spot, which distinguishes this variety from the “blue” males of the very similar “Jumbo Kekese” race;
“Large Cyprichromis”, like other representatives of the genus, should be kept in shoals of 10-15 or more specimens in spacious, elongated, and wide aquariums. At the same time, about 40% of the shoal consists of males. Active, mobile cichlids, the male is almost always super-active and attracts the attention of females with his activity and attire. The aquarium interior is very simple and boils down to a single principle: maximum free swimming space. Spawning males temporarily do not allow competitors into their territory. Neighbors of Cyprichromis in such aquariums can be many species of shell-dwelling Lamprologus, Altolamprologus, Telmatochromis, Xenotilapia, and other bottom-dwelling sand species.
The basis of the diet is zooplankton, in aquarium conditions – cyclops, diaptomus, Artemia, small daphnia, dry flakes. Dexterously grabbing individual crustaceans, the fish’s mouth extends into a transparent tube with high frequency (almost imperceptible to the eye) and returns to its original position. They mature at 12 months of age. In the water column, the female spawns eggs and catches them on the fly, preventing them from falling to the bottom. In the final stages of larval development, it is often possible to see the almost formed, “big-eyed” offspring through the semi-transparent throat pouch.
Cyprichromis microlepidotus, pavo, zonatus.
Cyphotilapia frontosa, Cyphotilapia gibberosa. 
