Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of the base species

Lamprologus speciosus "Bilila (Kavala) Island"

Bilila (Kavala) Island — bee-LEE-lah kah-VAH-lah EYE-land (approx.)

The fish

How this cichlid is built, and everything about how it lives, eats and breeds, is shared with the species — this page doesn't repeat it.

Read the full the base species account →

Specific to Bilila (Kavala) Island

  • Collection locality & coordinates
  • Local coloration — best judged from the living-fish photo
  • Kept as a single-provenance line, never crossed with other collection points

Care facts below are the species' — shared with the base species.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size2.6 in6.5 cm total length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.4–8.4alkaline
Depth10–197 ft3–60 m
DietBenthic micro-invertebrates: chironomid midge larvae and small crustaceans (copepods)
BreedingShell spawner10–20 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesMales noticeably larger than females; ripe females show a rounder, lighter-colored belly
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Bilila (Kavala) Island population

Lamprologus speciosus "Bilila (Kavala) Island" is the Bilila (Kavala) Island population of Lamprologus speciosus, a geographic colour form from the Democratic Republic of the Congo coast of Lake Tanganyika in the northern part of the lake. It is the same species as Lamprologus speciosus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Bilila (Kavala) Island fish at tanganyika.si →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Lamprologus speciosus "Bilila (Kavala) Island"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — species record for Lamprologus speciosus (current status: Neolamprologus speciosus, Büscher 1991)
  3. FishBase — Lamprologus speciosus summary (Büscher, 1991)
  4. Büscher, H.H. 1991. Neue Schneckencichliden aus dem Tanganjikasee. DATZ 44(6):374–382 (original description; via Catalog of Fishes reference)
  5. O'Reilly, C.M. et al. 2003. Climate change decreases aquatic ecosystem productivity of Lake Tanganyika, Africa. Nature 424:766–768
  6. Cohen, A.S. et al. 2016. Climate warming reduces fish production and benthic habitat in Lake Tanganyika. PNAS 113(34):9563–9568