Brief Intro To Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is one of the oldest, and deepest lakes on earth. It is also one of the single largest bodies of fresh water. It is situated in the Great African Rift Valley, hence it being often referred to as one of the Rift Lakes. Its age is estimated to be at least 20 million years old, and has a depth of 1470 meters (4,800 feet, or almost 1 mile). The length of the lake would stretch from New York City to Cleveland. Despite the age of the lake, fish exportation of the species found in the lake is relatively recent, with the first exportation of fish in the late 1950’s.
Cichlid enthusiasts have been fascinated with this lake and the interesting species that are found within. The diversity of the lake is partially due to the fact that it has been more or less isolated from other major bodies of water for around 6 million years. This has allowed the fish, especially cichlids, time to establish themselves as the rulers of the lake, filling in more spaces and being more adaptable than any other family found in the lake. Lake Tanganyika is surely the Jewel of the Rift. Not only fish from the cichlid family are found here. You will find fish related to barbs, tetras, spiny eels, crabs, catfish and killifish. While cichlids may be the main fish you hear about from the Lake, you can see that they are by no means the only type of fish to inhabit the lake.
Many of the cichlids and other fish one can find in the lake and often see for sale are endemic. This means that they are found nowhere else on Earth except in this lake. Again, this is partially due to the isolation that the lake has had for so long, and the adaptability of the cichlids to adjust so quickly to the lake and its waters. Cichlids are not the only endemic fish, some of the more popular being a few species of Synodontis catfish.
Tank Setup
When you think of a cichlid setup, normally the first thing that comes to mind are rocks. Lots, and lots of rocks. While this can stand true in most scenarios, it is not always the case.
How each tank should be setup depends on the fish that are to call the tank home. Know your fish before you start setting up the tank so you can know what type of set-up is best for each fish. In smaller tanks, it is difficult not only to house different species, but also to provide the best type of habitat for each one. The larger the tank, not only can you have more fish, but you can have fish that will live in different areas and create a true ‘community’ tank.
Rocky / Intermediate Habitat (Rock Dwellers)-
The tank should consist of many rocks piled on top of each other that form a network caves and labyrinths for the fish. Some fish will only use the rocks if they feel threatened or scared, while others will make it a permanent home. While the rocky and intermediate habitats are technically different, I have placed them under the same category for the purpose of this article as they share many similarities and many of the same fish are found in either.
Common fish- Many Lamprologines, Julidochromis, Tropheus, Frontosa, Altolamprologus
Open Water -
This one is pretty self-explanatory. While I have yet to see a tank setup for only open water fish, fish from this habitat are often seen in larger tanks mixed in with rock dwellers.
Common fish – Cyprichromis, Featherfins
Surge / Surf Habitat-
In the lake, the surge habitat is the upper three meters of water close to the shore. The turbulent water from the waves gives this area very high oxygen content. The fish found here are very specialized to live in these waters. They graze off the algae on the rocks with specialized teeth, and will wedge themselves either under, or in between rocks to keep from getting swept away with the waves.
In home aquaria, it would seem that these fish do well with a high oxygen content in the tank, as well as a veggie based diet. The setup should be that similar to the rocky habitat.
Common fish- Gobies
Shell Beds (Shell Dwellers) –
Due to the already high mineral content of the lake, snail shells do not decompose quickly; so several species of smaller fish have made these empty shells their homes. Many will eat, sleep and breed in these shells. Some prefer shell beds that the shells can number in the thousands and be over a meter deep, while others will be more than happy to live the single shells found scattered throughout the lake.
In our tanks, for the fish that form colonies that live in the large shell beds, its best to try and provide 3-4 shells for each adult fish minimum. For the others, 2-3 shells per adult fish is a good rule of thumb.
Common fish – Large Shell Bed: Neolamprologus Multifaciatus, Neolamprologus Similis
Small Shell Bed: Neolamprologus brevis, (Neo)Lamprologus ocellatus
Sand Sifters (Sand Dwellers) –
These come from open, sandy areas with relatively few rocks or other shelter. In the wild they can often be seen in larger groups, as are most fish that inhabit open water. In the aquarium, they should have plenty of open sandy areas with few rocks to get in their way, although some in the back and corners are appreciated to give some shelter. Fine Sand should be used as substrate due to the feeding habits, where they will sift though the sand looking for morsels of food.
Common fish- Enantiopus, Xenotilapia
Behavioral Problems
Tank size becomes a very important issue with cichlids in general. A lot of cichlids, if not the entire family, have gotten a bad rap by some people who say they are nothing more than cold blooded killers. “They killed off my entire tank!” “It ate all my fish!” “ It won’t let me put anything else in the tank without killing it!” These words are heard all to often.
There is a reason to the ‘madness’ if you will. If you understand why a fish acts and behaves the way that it does, then the fewer problems you are going to have with that fish. How many of us have seen someone walking out of a LFS with a cute 1” oscar talking about how well the other fish in the buyers 10 gallon tank are going to like their new tank mate? Well, you can be sure that customer was highly upset when the oscar got big enough to eliminate the other tank mates and quickly outgrew the tank.
Cichlids are very different than other mainstream fish you are going to see at the fish store, and Tanganyikans do not break this rule. All cichlids show some degree of parental care, and this in itself can cause problems in smaller tanks. If the other fish have no where to get away from the protective parents, then often times they will be killed because the parents see them as a threat to their brood. Many are also territorial by nature, and when territories becomes scarce, you are going to see more aggression between the fish. Bottom line: The more room, the better.