In true cichlid fashion, buttikoferi parents are known for being particularly protective when guarding
their eggs.
The male flares his fins in a threat display while the female tends to the eggs.
First Spawning Experience
I have always had an affinity for striped
fish and T. buttikoferi is no exception. Some
other similarly striped African cichlids are
T. mariae, Neolamprologus tretocephalus,
Cyphotilapia frontosa, and Neolamprologus
sexfasciatus. I first encountered a mated pair
of T. buttikoferi in a local fish store. They
were reportedly a proven pair, with some of
their fry housed in a smaller grow-out tank
at the store. I was quite intrigued with the
possibility of spawning this pair—the tank
I had, however, was considerably smaller
than their home at the store, which must
have been 300 gallons. I decided to take a
chance and purchase the pair. I took them
home and placed them in a 125-gallon
tank with a temperature of about 80°F and
a pH of about 7. 4 (in the wild, they are
typically found in a pH of 6. 5 to 7). They
were not housed with any other tankmates,
as I knew about their disposition. Their
reputation preceded them: T. buttikoferi
can be very mean and nasty toward other
fish, especially at spawning time. Anyway, I
placed plenty of lava rocks in their tank to
form caves and hoped that the pair would
not break up after their move.
After some time and patience I was
rewarded with a successful spawning. I
never saw the eggs, but there was a lot of
digging by both the male and female. In fact,
the tank interior sort of reminded me of a
war zone! The male was about a foot long
and the female was a few inches smaller
than her mate. One day I was pleasantly
surprised to find they were herding a
huge school of baby buttikoferi. These fry
were fed baby brine shrimp as well as a
powdered fry food, later graduating to a
crushed flake food. Unfortunately, with this
first spawning experience, I was not able to
get any good photos.
The T. buttikoferi parents guard their free-swimming fry.
Second Chance
It was not until many years later that I
got a second opportunity to work with T.
buttikoferi. My fish friend James Willard—
who knew I was again looking for these
fish—informed me that there was another
mated pair available at a store near him.
The two fish acted like a mated pair, but
none of their fry or juveniles were in their
tank or elsewhere in the store. I decided
to roll the dice again and take them. This
pair was comparable in size to the last pair
I had kept. This time, though, I bought
and placed them in a spacious 180-gallon
deep tank that my other fish friend John
