Neolamprologus tretocephalus

Common Names:

Five Bar Cichlid
Poor Mans Frontosa
Tret

Synonyms:

Lamprologus tretocephalus

Family:

Cichlidae

Category:

Cichlids

Distribution:

Africa; Lake Tanganyika - from the northern half of the lake.

Main Ecosystem:

Rift Lake; Rift Lake

Temperament:

Territorial; Generally males defend territory, swimming around and over the spawning site while females care about fry. Very Aggressive when breeding.

Diet:

Carnivore; Carnivore

Care:

Thrives on a good flake food diet, supplemented with quality pellets and frozen foods. Requires clean, hard, and alkaline water. Provide a rocky tank, with a sand substrata. As with any tank provide efficient filtration. Not for the community tank, keep with similar sized and temperamented Tanganyikan cichlids.

pH:

7.5 - 8.5

Temperature:

23°C - 27°C

73°F - 81°F

Hardness:

8 dH - 12 dH

Potential Size:

Male: 15cm (5.9")
Female: 15cm (5.9")

Water Region:

Middle, Bottom; Middle-Bottom

Activity:

Diurnal; Diurnal

Gender:

Can be easily distinguished from N. sexfasciatus by counting the black vertical stripes along the body, which are 5 in the first and 6 in the other. The male is much heavier about the head and "shoulder" (pectoral) region,

Breeding:

Cave spawner, egg layer – difficult to breed.

Variants:

Comments:

Main Colours:

Black, White, Blue

Markings:

Striped Vertical

Mouth:

Normal

Tail:

Convex