Common name/s - Neolamp Brevis

Scientific name - Neolamprologus Brevis

Family - Cichlidae

Origin - Lake Tanganyika, Africa

Maximum size - males till 6 cm, females smaller

Difficulty - Very hardy, readily accept most prepared and live foods. Omnivorous.

Water Parameters - Hard water with a high range pH 7.5 - 8.5 , temperature 24 - 28 degrees

Feeding - Frozen, dried and live foods all readily accepted.

Sexing - Males are usually of a slightly larger and stocky nature. Thier mouths are more up turned than the females. Males tend to dominate female fish.

Breeding - These fish are not difficult to breed. Being shell dwellers it is less likely to have any success without shells available for the fish to live in. Each fish will require its own shell. Ideally shells should be of freshwater origin and around six cm across.

Males will display infront of the females shell usually by shivering at the mouth of the shell. The female will return dancing if she considers him a suitable mate. After a few days of this courtship eggs will be laid. The territory during this period will be ferociously guarded by the male who will not hesitate to take on much larger and aggressive cichlids (if housed in a community tank) When the eggs hatch it is not uncommon not to see any of the juvs for a period of a week as they will seek shelter in / around the shells of the parents.

General Comments - While the pair is quite attached to each other, I was surprised to find that none of my brevis have ever been good parents. I never actually see them breed since they do this in their shell, but I do see periodic mating dances that tend to hint that fry will arrive in a few days or weeks. Once the fry emerge from the shells they hide in the gravel and beneath any shells. The parents do not eat the fry, but I’ve never once seen them defend the fry or try to shepherd them into a shell when danger approaches.
If you plan to sell any of the fry, or even wish to move to a fry tank I recommend replacing their shells with "L" shaped pipe with about a 1" opening. You can cap off one end so that you can pick up the "shell", remove the end and dump the fish out. This has made a huge difference in my tank.