Chalinochromis ndobhoi
Chalinochromis sp. 'ndobhoi' occurs naturally in a limited area on the east coast of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, between Cape Kasoe and Bulu on the mainland and in the coastal areas around Karilani Island. The fish stay along rocky shores, very rarely appearing in open water.
Chalinochromis sp. 'ndobhoi' has an elongated body. The pelvic fins are also elongated. The tail plumage is rounded. On the sides of adult fish there are a pair of dotted dots, which gave the fish its name. There is also another dark dotted stripe at the root of the dorsal plumage. In young fish these stripes are solid. Sexual differences are expressed poorly. Males have an elongated papilla and a small outgrowth on the forehead. Males reach a size of 12 cm, while females are up to 9 cm in length.
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An aquarium of at least 200 liters is required to keep a single pair of fish. If more fish are kept together, the tank should also be larger. During spawning, fish pairs usually occupy fairly large areas, and in small aquariums between fish, territorial wars can break out.
Possible content of punctuated halinohromis in a society of other cichlid species, but this should select the neighbours to them very carefully, because adults are very territorial fish and may simply not allow other fish to freely swim in the aquarium. Buy immediately a group of young halinochromis. As the fish matured to form a hierarchy, which will appear dominant fish that will always provoke clashes. To avoid this, as soon as it will be noticed, should remove the other fish, and the dominant pair to leave.
Coarse-grained river sand should preferably be used as substrate. At the bottom should be placed heaps of stones reminiscent of the rocks, with splits and caves.
Water parameters: temperature 24 - 28° C, hardness dH 10-25°, pH 8,0-9,0. Water quality in the aquarium must be ideal. Requires quality filtration, increased aeration and a weekly substitution of up to ½ of the aquarium water with fresh.
Chalinochromis sp. 'ndobhoi' feeds on a variety of dry food with plant additives, as well as live and frozen chironomid, daphnia and artemia.
Reproduction
Chalinochromis sp. 'ndobhoi' often spawns in the aquarium.
The female lays eggs in a cave or other shelter, attaching the eggs to a hard surface. The male immediately fertilizes the clutch. The female hatches the eggs in several stages. In total, the female hatches about 100 eggs during the spawning season. Both parents take care of the eggs.
The eggs incubate for 48-60 hours. Once the larvae hatch, they feed on their yolk sacs for 5-6 days, after which they begin to swim freely under the protection of their parents. This continues until the producers start spawning again. Once this happens, the parents completely lose interest in the fry, and at this time, if the aquarium is small, it is desirable to remove the fry.
The fry are fed with Artemia 4 times a day.
Life expectancy of the Chalinochromis sp. 'ndobhoi' under aquarium conditions is about 5-7 years.
