Edit Benthochromis tricoti
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Name
Scientific name
Benthochromis tricoti
Described by
Authority Poll, Year 1948, Bracketed
Family
Cichlidae
Common names
Not recorded
Photograph credits
All 1 credited
Summary
Benthochromis tricoti is a deep-water cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika, where it lives in open water and feeds on zooplankton. The specie…
Size and aquarium
Maximum size
165mm, total length
Aquarium size
Minimum length 150 cm, Minimum depth 60 cm, Minimum height 60 cm
Water
Water conditions
Temperature 24–27°C, pH 7.5–9
Hardness
10–25dGH
Conductivity
Not recorded
Behaviour
Temperament
Peaceful
Social needs
A shoal or group
Community suitability
Not for a community
Where it lives
Countries, regions, rivers and lakes
Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Lake Tanganyika
Writing
Etymology
Benthochromis: from the Greek benthos, meaning 'depth', and chromis, a name the ancient Greeks used for a fish. tricoti: in honour of M. Tricot, director of th…
Distribution
Endemic to Lake Tanganyika, and recorded from the waters of all four countries bordering the lake: Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania and Zambia. Type locality is 'ne…
Habitat
A fish of open water over the deeper parts of the lake, away from the rocky shoreline. The type specimens were trawled at 100-125 m, and most museum specimens …
Aquarium size
A tank measuring 150 ∗ 60 ∗ 60 cm (~540 litres) is the minimum for a group of this species.
Maintenance
It swims in open water, mostly in the upper half of the tank, and doesn't use rocks or caves the way many Tanganyikan cichlids do. Leave at least the upper two…
Water conditions
Temperature: 24 – 27 °C pH: 7.5 – 9.0 Hardness: 10 – 25 dGH
Diet
In the lake it feeds on zooplankton, mainly small crustaceans (Konings, 1988). It has a small mouth, so small live and frozen foods such as Artemia, Mysis and …
Behaviour and compatibility
Peaceful, and easily stressed by boisterous tankmates such as Tropheus or the Malawian mbuna. Those fish also need a different diet. It's best kept in a specie…
Sexual dimorphism
Adult males are larger and far more colourful than females. Females are mostly plain.
Reproduction
A maternal mouthbrooder (Takahashi, 2008). The female takes the eggs into her mouth as soon as they are laid. Spawnings have been reported in aquaria, but broo…
Notes
Described as Haplotaxodon tricoti by Poll in 1948, and made the type species of Benthochromis when Poll erected the genus in 1986. The genus has three species:…
References
References
7 on this profile