What a fun species from Africa this is! The Tanganyika lake local is known for residing in small empty ‘Neothauma tanganyicense’ snail shells, hence the name shell dweller. The male charms females into living along with him in these snail shells. In the wild one male serves an entire harem of females and defends a territory of snail houses that are occupied by females. The females spend most of their time inside these shells, resting, spawning and raising their young.
It is recommended to set up an aquarium with a soft sand bottom, where they can hide the shells from other cichlids. Provide them with clean water, many shells (escargot) to hide in and stable temperatures and you will have an interesting species to enjoy.
| LATIN NAME | SIZE |
| Lamprologus ocellatus | Up to 6 cm. |
| REGION | WATER CONDITIONS |
| Lake Tanganyika, Africa | Temperature: 23 – 25 °C pH: 8,0 – 9,0 Water: They like hard, alkaline water |
| FUN FACT | |
| In the wild males have a harem of females! What a player 😉 |
