Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Lepidiolamprologus meeli

Lepidiolamprologus meeli "Congo"

Congo — COHN-goh (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 Lepidiolamprologus meeli account →

Specific to Congo

  • 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 Lepidiolamprologus meeli.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size2.8 in7 cm total length
Temperature73–77 °F23–25 °C
pH8.2–9alkaline
Depth16–66 ft5–20 m
DietInvertebrates and fry or juveniles of other fishes; an opportunistic micro-predator hunting close to the substrate
BreedingShell spawner; female deposits eggs inside empty gastropod (Neothauma) shellsSmall; exact clutch size unreported in the literature
Sexual dimorphismYesMales substantially larger than females (up to ~7 cm vs ~4 cm TL); breeding females often darken dramatically and may develop black pelvic fins while brooding
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Congo population

Lepidiolamprologus meeli "Congo" is the Congo population of Lepidiolamprologus meeli, a geographic colour form from the Democratic Republic of the Congo coast of Lake Tanganyika in the central part of the lake. It is the same species as Lepidiolamprologus meeli, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Congo fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Lepidiolamprologus meeli is a small predatory cichlid from Lake Tanganyika, one of the lake's many shell-associated lamprologines that pairs the hunting build of a sand-stalking predator with the domestic habits of a snail-shell breeder. It is best known to hobbyists less for itself than for the confusion around it: the true species is a modest, narrowly recorded fish, while most of the "meeli" sold in the trade is actually one of several look-alike or undescribed relatives. Females spawn deep inside empty gastropod shells while the larger male patrols a sandy territory above — a division of labor that makes the species a compact, watchable subject for a dedicated Tanganyikan tank.

Full Lepidiolamprologus meeli account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Lepidiolamprologus meeli "Congo"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Lepidiolamprologus meeli (Poll, 1948)
  3. FishBase — Lepidiolamprologus meeli summary
  4. FishBase — Lepidiolamprologus boulengeri (genus shell-breeding comparison)
  5. Schelly et al. & Lamprologini phylogeny — evolutionary history of the tribe (ScienceDirect)
  6. Reticulate phylogeny of gastropod-shell-breeding cichlids of Lake Tanganyika (PMC)