Ophthalmotilapia boops
Ophthalmotilapia boops occur naturally in Lake Tanganyika, in the coastal area of southern Tanzania. The fish stay along rocky slopes and dumps.
Male Ophthalmotilapia boops are brightly coloured with long fins and larger in size than females. Fish reach a size of 15 cm.
Keep the fish in an aquarium of 180 liters. Piles of stones of various sizes should be placed at the bottom of the aquarium. In the corners of the aquarium should be built from rocks something like caves, which can swim freely of fish. At the same time it is necessary not to overload the space in the aquarium with various decorations, because the fish need plenty of room to swim. Various plants, which are not harmed by the fish, can, but do not have to, be planted along the aquarium walls. When choosing aquarium plants, select aquarium plants that can grow in relatively hard water, e.g. Anubias barteri striped or Vallisneria asiatica.
Ophthalmotilapia boops are relatively restless fish, requiring quite a lot of living space in the aquarium. Perhaps keeping these fish in a common aquarium with other peace-loving fish, not claiming dominance, otherwise ophthalmotillapia boops will take on a faded coloration and will be constantly in a depressed state. Male ophthalmotillapias are aggressive towards each other, and if the aquarium is not spacious enough, you should keep in it one male with several females.
Water parameters: temperature 23-27° C, hardness dH 8-25°, acidity pH 7,5-9,0. Quality biological filtration and increased aeration of the water is required, as well as a ¼ fresh water change weekly.
Coarse river sand can be used as substrate.
The menus of the fish consist of various live and frozen foodstuffs: artemia, daphnia, chironomid moths. Care should be taken to avoid feeding high-protein food. Plant food such as chopped lettuce and spinach, as well as dry flakes containing spirulina, should also be provided. The food should be fed once or twice a day.
Reproduction
Breeding Ophthalmotilapia boops in an aquarium is possible, provided the aquarium is large enough. It is important that the aquarium has plenty of free sandy areas. The aquarium should contain 1 male and 3-4 females. The breeders are fed abundantly with a variety of feeds.
Before the female spawns, the male digs a small crater-like hole in the substrate. He then begins to swim around the nest showing his bright colours, thereby attracting the female to the spawning area. When one of the females, who has attracted the attention of the male, swims up to the nest, she will hatch the eggs and immediately collect them all in her mouth. She then swims up to the male's pelvic fins and at this time he emits milk, thereby fertilising the eggs in the female's mouth.
The female is able to incubate up to 60 eggs in her mouth. The incubation period is about 3 weeks. After that, the fully formed fry leave the female's mouth. The female nurses and protects the fry.
The fry are large enough to eat Artemia nauplii from birth. They are also fed milled dry food containing spirulina. The fry are fed at least 4 times a day.
