Gold Cap Caudopunctatus

Neolamprologus caudopunctatus is a small cichlid from the Zambian shore of Lake Tanganyika, living where rocky shoreline meets open sand. Through the day it rises a little off the bottom to pick zooplankton from the water, dropping back to the rocks for cover. The 'gold cap' or red-fin form is the one usually sold: a pale, pearly body set off by a tall dorsal fin that runs from gold to orange-red when the fish displays. Males grow to about 6.5 cm, a shade larger than females.

It is one of the easier Tanganyikans to keep, which makes it a good first rift-lake cichlid. A single pair does well in a tank of around 80 litres with a sand floor and a pile of rock forming caves; it is not a strict shell-dweller but will happily spawn in a large snail shell if offered one. The water needs to be hard, alkaline and, above all, stable — pH 7.5–8.5 and 23–25 °C.

In the lake it feeds on plankton, so in captivity it takes small carnivore foods readily: quality cichlid pellets and flakes with frozen brine shrimp, mysis and daphnia. Pairs are monogamous and spawn in a cave or shell, the female tending the eggs while the male guards the surroundings. Eggs hatch in about three days and the fry are free swimming a week or so later. Growth is slow — expect only a centimetre or so in the first couple of months.