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Lemon Cichlid

Gold Leleupi Cichlid ~ Gold Cichlid Family: Cichlidae

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Neolamprologus leleupi Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Frank Schneidewind

   Mysis and other live foods high in Carotene will help promote the brilliant yellow/orange coloration of the Lemon Cichlid!

   The Lemon Cichlid or Gold Cichlid is a beautiful African cichlid from Lake Tanganyika. It is hardy and not difficult to keep as long as it is fed live foods. Along with diet, a roomy aquarium with a bottom of light colored fine sand will help keep their vibrant color. Provide plenty of hiding places among rocks and wood. Plants are not essential but can be included. They will not harm the plants nor will they burrow.

   In the wild the Lemon Cichlid is usually found alone. However, it is an inoffensive fish and can be kept in a community aquarium with other durable fishes. Though relatively peaceful, the male can get aggressive with other males. To keep several or keep in a community environment the aquarium should be good sized, 40 gallons or more.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Distribution:
   The Lemon Cichlid was described by Poll in 1956. These fish are endemic to Lake Tanganyika. They are found along the rocky coastlines of both the east and west side of the lake at depths between 16 - 131 feet (5 - 40 m).

Status:
   This species is listed on the IUCN Red List with the status of 'LC', meaning 'Least Concern'.

Description:
   The Lemon Cichlid has an elongated body, a fan shaped caudal fin, and large lips. They have a fine blue or greenish line above the lips that runs to just below the eye, and the eyes are light blue. Specimens can vary widely in their color. The most commonly seen is a bright yellow or an orange to reddish color. There are natural variations of intensity and hue, but their color is largely dependent on their diet and the light or dark nature of their environment. Fish kept on darker substrates will be darker and muddy colored.

   Besides the nominate form there have been two other subspecies of this fish described:

• Neolamprologus leleupi longoir - This subspecies is found near Tanzania and has a longer body
• Neolamprologus leleupi melas

Size - Weight:
   The Lemon Cichlid male will get up to 4.0" (10 cm) with females slightly smaller, up to 3.5" (9 cm).

Care and feeding:
   Since they are carnivores, the Lemon Cichlid or Gold Cichlid needs protein foods. In the wild they eat zoobenthic organisms, aquatic insects, and copepods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food or pellet everyday. Regularly supplement these foods with brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or daphnia. Live protein foods high in carotene, such as mysis, help promote its beautiful coloring. Feed 2 to 5 small pinches of food a day in smaller amounts instead of a large quantity once a day.  This will keep the water quality higher over a longer time. A one-day-a-week 'fast' can also be beneficial. Of course, all fish benefit from added vitamins and supplements to their foods.
   A minimum 20 gallons for a pair is suggested, while 40 gallons or more would be required if mixing with other species. They need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Provide a sandy to very small sized substrate. Along with a good diet, a light colored substrate will help them keep in their brilliant coloration. In a dark environment they will tend to turn dark and begin to look muddy. Crushed coral or sand for salt water tanks can help keep the Ph up. They need a lot of rocks and cave formations. Plants are not essential though they do not harm them, nor do they burrow.
   Do normal water changes of only 10% to 20% a week, or more frequent depending on the nitrite/ammonia levels and stocking numbers. The Lake Tanganyikan cichlids cannot handle large water changes very well unless the new water chemistry closely matches the water they are in. This inability to tolerate large water changes is due to Lake Tanganyika being very deep and the water tends to stay stable.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 12 - 15° dGH
   Ph: 7.8 to 9.0, wild caught specimens prefer the higher Ph.
   Temp: 74-79° F (24-26° C)

Several things all Lake Tanganyikan cichlids need are:

1. Stable temperatures kept within acceptable limits. Anything under 72° F and over 86° F for too long is not tolerated by many of these fish (for ich, a few days at 86° F is acceptable according to one author)..
2. Lots of oxygen to survive. Lake Tanganyika is a very oxygen rich lake. Bubblers need to be going day and night, even if there are plants.
3. Avoid overfeeding and overstocking.
4. Do a 10-20% water change weekly.
5. Regularly check nitrates (no more than 25 ppm), Ph (less than 7 is not tolerated), total hardness and carbonate hardness.

Social Behaviors:
   They are fairly non-aggressive community fish. They don't burrow or disturb plants. They can be kept in a smaller species only tank or in a larger aquarium with other durable fish. They are best kept with mild-mannered tankmates such as other Tanganyikan cichlids of the genus Julidochromis and Altolamprologus, as well as Synodontis catfish. It is best to avoid housing them with the African cichlids from Lake Malawi or Lake Victoria.

Sexual Differences:
   Although it is hard to tell, the male has a fuller body, a larger head, and often has a cranial hump. The male's pelvic fin is longer.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Lemon Cichlid or Gold Cichlid are egg layers. They form monogamous pairs and a nuclear family during spawning. The female is a sheltered substrate spawner and prefers spawning in caves. See the description of monogamous cichlids in Breeding Freshwater Fish. One source states that L. leleupi will change to polygyny in captivity. See References, The Cichlid Aquarium.

Buy Lemon Cichlids From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   The Lemon Cichlid or Gold Cichlid is available from time to time. They are found both online and in fish stores ranging from $5 - $20 USD, depending on whether they are juveniles or adults.

Author: Clarice Brough, CFS

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Some of the coolest comments:
To get this fish to have very vibrant color you should feed them foods that have carotene in them. Foods like mysid shrimp and crickets will do fine. A very pretty fish from Lake Tanganyka. Provide this fish with many caves and crevices. They are not agressive to fish of similar size but can definitly hold their own. Ricky 2005-09-26

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Author: David Brough. CFS.

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