Chalinochromis popelini 'Cape Tembwe'

Chalinochromis popelini 'Cape Tembwe'.jpg

Cyprichromis sp. 'speckleback rainbow' Cape Tembwe.jpg

Tribe / Genus:	Lamprologini / Chalinochromis
Type locality:	Moba, Lake Tanganyika, Democratic Republic of Congo
Biotope:	Rocky to intermediate habitats
Geographic distribution:	Central Congolese part of Lake Tanganyika, from Kalemie to Kapampa. Replaced by Chalinochromis sp. 'bifrenatus' along the Tanzanian coast.
Typical adult size:	Approximately 12–13 cm total length
Sexual dimorphism:	Males are larger than females. No evidence of reversed size dimorphism as reported for Chalinochromis sp. 'bifrenatus'.
Recommended aquarium size:	100 L for a single bonded pair
Aquarium setup:	Rock-dominated setup with numerous crevices and hiding places. Highly intolerant of conspecifics; pairs should be formed from a group of juveniles and excess individuals removed. Larger community tanks (300–400 L or more) required if more than one individual is present.
Diet:	Feeds on invertebrates collected from the aufwuchs. In aquarium, accepts a wide range of foods including frozen and live items such as mysis and krill.
Breeding:	Pair-forming substrate spawner. Parents defend a moderately sized brood. Juveniles show typical Julidochromis-like crawling behavior on rocks and do not form free-swimming “clouds” as seen in Chalinochromis brichardi.
Aggression:	Strongly aggressive towards conspecifics; aggression increases during breeding and may extend to other species sharing the territory.
Special notes:	Morphologically and behaviorally intermediate between Julidochromis (especially J. ornatus) and Chalinochromis brichardi. Its generic placement has long been debated and questions the validity of Chalinochromis as a genus unless restricted to its type species.