Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps

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Tribe / Genus:	Ectodini / Xenotilapia
Type locality:	Moliro, Lake Tanganyika, Democratic Republic of Congo
Biotope:	Lives over sandy or muddy bottoms at greater depths. Most commonly found at 35–50 m, but it has also been recorded as deep as 100 m.
Geographic distribution:	Endemic to Lake Tanganyika, with a lake-wide distribution in suitable habitats.
Typical adult size:	Males grow to around 17 cm, while females are about 2 cm smaller. Juveniles grow fast, reaching 8–10 cm within their first year, and become sexually mature around that time.
Sexual dimorphism:	Adult males are larger than females of the same age and show a more intensified coloration.
Recommended aquarium size:	400 L
Aquarium setup:	Like many Xenotilapia, this species can be easily stressed, which should be considered when planning the setup. Provide a bottom with plenty of open space consisting of fine sand; rocks are not necessary. Choose tankmates carefully and avoid aggressive or territorial species, especially bottom-dwelling fish that occupy the same niche. Best kept in a group of at least eight individuals, including both males and females (with more females being acceptable). Juveniles can be raised in smaller aquaria, but adults should not be kept long term in a tank shorter than 150 cm.
Diet:	Carnivorous. Digestive analyses indicate a diet mainly consisting of insect larvae, with smaller amounts of small gastropods. Feeds by sifting the sand like most Xenotilapia. The mouth is positioned very low on the head, allowing it to feed without lifting the body from the substrate.
Breeding:	Maternal mouthbrooder. The male constructs a low sand-scrape spawning site prior to spawning, about 15–18 cm in diameter and only a few centimeters high. The female incubates eggs and larvae for about three weeks before releasing the fry, then provides post-release brood care for about 2–4 days before abandoning them. Typical brood size is around 50–60 fry.
Aggression:	Generally peaceful toward both conspecifics and other species.
Special notes:	The fish now known as Xenotilapia boulengeri was for a long time wrongly identified as Xenotilapia sima in the aquarium hobby; despite some shared morphometrics, they differ notably in both appearance and behavior. The true Xenotilapia sima was likely imported for the first time in 2008. In Germany, Xenotilapia sima has also been mislabeled and sold as Xenotilapia ornatipinnis “Moliro” or “Firestream”.