Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps

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Tropheus brichardi 'North of Kigoma'.jpg Tropheus duboisi 'Kigoma'.jpg Xenotilapia bathyphilus 'Kigoma'.jpg Xenotilapia boulengeri 'Kigoma'.jpg Xenotilapia flavipinnis 'Kigoma'.jpg
Previous pageNext pageXenotilapia bathyphilus 'Kigoma'
Tribe / Genus Ectodini / Xenotilapia
Type locality Sumbu Bay, Lake Tanganyika, Zambia
Biotope A deep-water sand and mud-dweller, occurring mainly over sandy or muddy bottoms from about 20 m down to 100 m, and only rarely entering shallower water.
Geographic distribution Endemic to Lake Tanganyika; recorded in suitable deep sandy and muddy habitats from Cape Chaitika (Zambia), along the Congolese and Burundian shores to at least the Kigoma area (Tanzania), and likely extending further south in appropriate habitat.
Typical adult size Maximum recorded total length about 103 mm; in aquaria it typically reaches a similar size. Tank-raised juveniles may reach about 7–8 cm within a year and then become sexually mature.
Sexual dimorphism Males generally grow slightly larger than females. Females are typically less intensely coloured, appearing more silvery or grey with only faint markings compared with males.
Recommended aquarium size 200 L
Aquarium setup Use a fine sand substrate. Keep rockwork minimal and smooth, leaving as much open sandy area as possible while still providing a few stones to help define territories.
In a 200 L aquarium, keep one male with several females due to strong male intraspecific aggression; in larger aquaria (at least 150 cm length), a larger group including multiple males can be maintained.
In sufficiently large tanks, it can be combined with smaller Neolamprologus and Cyprichromis species.
Diet Carnivorous. Forms small foraging groups (up to about 20 individuals) that hover just above the substrate and take mouthfuls of sand, filtering out small invertebrates before expelling the remaining material. Reported gut contents include copepods as well as ostracods and insect larvae.
Breeding Maternal mouthbrooder. Males construct and maintain territories marked by sand turrets built from heaped sand; turrets can exceed 10 cm in height, and different males’ territories are typically spaced widely.
Spawning may occur anywhere within the male’s territory rather than at a single central point. Reported clutch size varies, with spawns described as around 15–20 eggs and also as about 30–40 eggs; eggs are about 3 mm long. The male fertilizes the eggs, which the female then takes into her mouth and incubates for about three weeks before releasing the fry. No post-release brood care has been reported.
Aggression Males can be strongly territorial and aggressive toward conspecific males. Best kept as one male with several females in smaller aquaria; multiple males require a larger tank (at least 150 cm length) with adequate space to reduce conflict.
Special notes A deep-water Xenotilapia associated with sandy and muddy habitats.
Diagnostic notes indicate that Xenotilapia bathyphilus can be separated from most congeners by a combination of fin-ray counts and body proportions, and from X. ochrogenys by caudal-peduncle proportions and coloration.
It is morphologically similar to the potentially undescribed Xenotilapia sp. ‘bathyphilus yellow’. The two can be distinguished by the colour of the lips: X. bathyphilus has blue lips, while X. sp. ‘bathyphilus yellow’ has yellow lips.

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Photo: © Evert van Ammelrooy
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Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps.
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