Neolamprologus cylindricus
by Todd Raysby - 07/09/2013
by Todd Raysby - 07/09/2013
One of my all-time favorite Tanganyikan cichlids is N. cylindricus. This is another of the aggressive torpedo-shaped, substrate-spawners that I dig. Adult males reach about 5" while females top out around 4" or so. They are truly an aggressive fish; males will not tolerate one another for long in the confines of an aquarium unless the tank is very large. A heavily stocked tank or the addition of dither fish can help alleviate some of this aggression. This species can be bred in pairs or in a harem group consisting of one male and multiple females. Such a setup will require plenty of cover in the form of rockwork, driftwood, plants and the like in order to break sight-lines and supply separate territories for each fish. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 36" long for a pair - though I am familiar with people who have succeeded in breeding them in smaller confines - and something in the realm of a 75 gallon aquarium for a group of five or more.
While N. cylindricus is not the very first fish I ever spawned, it is the one that sucked me back into the hobby after a long hiatus. My days in the hobby as a youth culminated in a 125 gallon aquarium containing Cyphotilapia frontosa and Labidochromis caeruleus. This magnificent tank met an unfortunate demise - a tale for another time - and drove me from the hobby for several years. I had long coveted, but never kept, and rarely saw in person, N. cylindricus. One day I was browsing a local fish store when I spotted around a dozen or so 1" N. cylindricus fry in one of the smaller aquariums. The price tag read $11 each. While that was a steep price for me at the time, I knew if I passed on them then, I might never own these beautiful little torpedoes with the iconic dark stripes. I purchased 6 of them and began the slow journey back to hobby mania.
My first task was to set up a new aquarium. I had only a single 40 gallon breeder running at the time, and it housed two OB peacocks that I had had for a couple of years. Many will argue that buying fish before having a proper home for them is a bad idea. I will not argue back. Sometimes, however, we make hasty decisions and a tank can be up and running with fish in it within a matter of an hour or two. If the fish are fed very sparingly for the first week or so and monitored for signs of distress, the process is usually successful, if not optimal. So I set up a 20 gallon long that was laying around unused. I put no substrate in the tank, a first for me (I prefer sand or fine-grade gravel on the bottom of my tanks), and tossed in as many decorations as I could manage because I was aware of the inadequate size of the tank and the aggressive nature of N. cylindricus. My setup was a tank in which floating plastic plants obscured most of the view and pieces of slate covered the bottom of the tank creating numerous crevices and caves. It worked, but, again, was less than ideal. One thing I try not to do is house fish in environments in which they merely survive. I want my fish to thrive and be healthy and happy, or whatever a fish's emotional equivalent to happiness may be.
After a period of around 6 to 8 months - in which time I lost one of the fish - the 20 gallon began to leak, not a pleasant surprise. I moved the fish to the only receptacle I had available, a plastic lunch cooler. It held something like 10 gallons. Again I crammed the space with rocks and plastic plants. There the fish languished for several months. Note that this cooler had no filter on it whatsoever. It also lacked a heater. I fed the fish sparingly - perhaps twice every three days - and performed regular water changes each week, emptying nearly the entire cooler every time. The only other residents of the cooler were a plethora of Malaysian burrowing snails (Melanoides tuberculata) who did an excellent job of cleaning up any leftover food. What finally spurred me on to setting up a new aquarium for these guys was the appearance of fry. Believe it or not, the N. cylindricus had not only survived for 6 months in the unfiltered, unheated environment of the cooler, they had actually spawned!
I proceeded to setup a 35 gallon hexagon aquarium that my uncle had rescued from the garbage. I had to reseal it, but the tank was a Godsend. I piled slate 2/3rds of the way up the tank atop a bed of sand. I also added several barnacles which worked very well for shelter. I introduced two-dozen zebra danios (Danio rerio) to the tank to distract the largest male who was beginning to become a nasty bugger. He managed to kill the only other male within a short time of being moved to the new quarters. Thus I was left with one male and three females, a very productive harem. The fish spawned regularly. The male would roam from female to female sowing his seed. I initially pulled the majority of the fry, but I eventually learned that there wasn't a huge market for these fish in my area. The fry can be raised on crushed flake, but will do better if started on something live first, such as Artemia nauplii or micro-worms. After the first couple of batches I began to leave the fry in with the adults. A small number would manage to survive, but the majority of the young disappeared after a month or so. The adults will tolerate the young until they reach a size of around 1". At that point they are targeted for extermination. One thing I never tried, but I imagine would work, is removing the male and leaving the fry alone with the mother. I believe she would be more tolerant of the fry and far less likely to eat them.
I eventually sold off the extra females and kept only one pair. They lived for about 7 years. I split them into separate tanks after a few years to end the spawning. One sad day I found the female mutilated. The likely culprit was an overly rambunctious Astatotilapia aeneocolor male. The male, lovingly named Grainger, lives to this day in the solitude of a planted ten gallon aquarium with only a small bristlenose pleco (Ancistrus sp.) to keep him company.
While N. cylindricus is not the very first fish I ever spawned, it is the one that sucked me back into the hobby after a long hiatus. My days in the hobby as a youth culminated in a 125 gallon aquarium containing Cyphotilapia frontosa and Labidochromis caeruleus. This magnificent tank met an unfortunate demise - a tale for another time - and drove me from the hobby for several years. I had long coveted, but never kept, and rarely saw in person, N. cylindricus. One day I was browsing a local fish store when I spotted around a dozen or so 1" N. cylindricus fry in one of the smaller aquariums. The price tag read $11 each. While that was a steep price for me at the time, I knew if I passed on them then, I might never own these beautiful little torpedoes with the iconic dark stripes. I purchased 6 of them and began the slow journey back to hobby mania.
My first task was to set up a new aquarium. I had only a single 40 gallon breeder running at the time, and it housed two OB peacocks that I had had for a couple of years. Many will argue that buying fish before having a proper home for them is a bad idea. I will not argue back. Sometimes, however, we make hasty decisions and a tank can be up and running with fish in it within a matter of an hour or two. If the fish are fed very sparingly for the first week or so and monitored for signs of distress, the process is usually successful, if not optimal. So I set up a 20 gallon long that was laying around unused. I put no substrate in the tank, a first for me (I prefer sand or fine-grade gravel on the bottom of my tanks), and tossed in as many decorations as I could manage because I was aware of the inadequate size of the tank and the aggressive nature of N. cylindricus. My setup was a tank in which floating plastic plants obscured most of the view and pieces of slate covered the bottom of the tank creating numerous crevices and caves. It worked, but, again, was less than ideal. One thing I try not to do is house fish in environments in which they merely survive. I want my fish to thrive and be healthy and happy, or whatever a fish's emotional equivalent to happiness may be.
After a period of around 6 to 8 months - in which time I lost one of the fish - the 20 gallon began to leak, not a pleasant surprise. I moved the fish to the only receptacle I had available, a plastic lunch cooler. It held something like 10 gallons. Again I crammed the space with rocks and plastic plants. There the fish languished for several months. Note that this cooler had no filter on it whatsoever. It also lacked a heater. I fed the fish sparingly - perhaps twice every three days - and performed regular water changes each week, emptying nearly the entire cooler every time. The only other residents of the cooler were a plethora of Malaysian burrowing snails (Melanoides tuberculata) who did an excellent job of cleaning up any leftover food. What finally spurred me on to setting up a new aquarium for these guys was the appearance of fry. Believe it or not, the N. cylindricus had not only survived for 6 months in the unfiltered, unheated environment of the cooler, they had actually spawned!
I proceeded to setup a 35 gallon hexagon aquarium that my uncle had rescued from the garbage. I had to reseal it, but the tank was a Godsend. I piled slate 2/3rds of the way up the tank atop a bed of sand. I also added several barnacles which worked very well for shelter. I introduced two-dozen zebra danios (Danio rerio) to the tank to distract the largest male who was beginning to become a nasty bugger. He managed to kill the only other male within a short time of being moved to the new quarters. Thus I was left with one male and three females, a very productive harem. The fish spawned regularly. The male would roam from female to female sowing his seed. I initially pulled the majority of the fry, but I eventually learned that there wasn't a huge market for these fish in my area. The fry can be raised on crushed flake, but will do better if started on something live first, such as Artemia nauplii or micro-worms. After the first couple of batches I began to leave the fry in with the adults. A small number would manage to survive, but the majority of the young disappeared after a month or so. The adults will tolerate the young until they reach a size of around 1". At that point they are targeted for extermination. One thing I never tried, but I imagine would work, is removing the male and leaving the fry alone with the mother. I believe she would be more tolerant of the fry and far less likely to eat them.
I eventually sold off the extra females and kept only one pair. They lived for about 7 years. I split them into separate tanks after a few years to end the spawning. One sad day I found the female mutilated. The likely culprit was an overly rambunctious Astatotilapia aeneocolor male. The male, lovingly named Grainger, lives to this day in the solitude of a planted ten gallon aquarium with only a small bristlenose pleco (Ancistrus sp.) to keep him company.
