Neolamprologus Hecqui

They aren’t picky about food at all. Mine accept anything offered to them as long as they can fit it in their mouths! Assorted flakes, freeze-dried and frozen foods are given 2 or 3 times per day. A feeding of live foods such as Black Worms, Red Worms or Daphnia is added to their diet a couple times a week.

Water changes are done weekly with the replacement of 30-50%. I use straight tap water with the addition of a commercial de-chlorinator. Temperature is maintained around 76F. A pH above 7.8 is recommended and should be kept stable. Fluctuations of pH can be avoided if a good buffer is used in the tank, such as seashells, smooth surfaced pieces of coral, aragonite sand, crushed coral or Tufa Rock, as opposed to chemical buffers that aren’t as stable for long periods of time.

Males grow larger than the females getting to nearly 4″; the females stay a bit smaller at 3 1/4″. Males also show more color than females, most noticeably in the fins, which also are just a tad larger then that of the females. The female guards the spawn site with the eggs or fry while the male defends the area from intruders. My spawns have always taken place inside a seashell. The only way I suspect that eggs have been laid is that the female stays pretty much in the shell all the time. If I don’t see her out at feeding time, she is probably fanning eggs in the shell. Even with those observations in mind, I have already looked into an aquarium and seen a cloud of fry swimming around their seashell with mom close by. When just free-swimming, at 1/4″ in size, the youngsters are silver and black in color. At the slightest sign of threat, they will drop to the bottom of the tank and blend into the substrate. Even if you know they are there, many times you won’t be able to find them. Microworms and newly hatched baby brine shrimp are perfect first foods. The fry are quick grows, reaching a length of an inch in twelve weeks.