Neolamprologus christyi "Kisambala"

Kisambalakee-sahm-BAH-lah (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 Neolamprologus christyi account →

Specific to Kisambala

  • 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 Neolamprologus christyi.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size7.1 in18 cm total length
Temperature73–82 °F23–28 °C
pH7–8.5alkaline
Depth0–33 ft0–10 m
DietInvertebrates: crustaceans, small mollusks (snails), worms, and insect larvae; trophic level ~3.3
BreedingCave spawner; substrate brooder>250 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesWeak; males may run slightly larger, females sometimes paler, but difference is inconsistent
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kisambala population

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

Colour reference: living Kisambala fish at tanganyika.si

About the species

Neolamprologus christyi is a substrate-spawning lamprologine cichlid endemic to the rocky shallows of southern Lake Tanganyika. Slender and forked-tailed, it shifts from a pale, blue-trimmed juvenile to a matte chocolate-black adult, and it carries one of the most fearsome tempers in a genus already known for short fuses. It is a fish that field biologists have caught breeding across species lines and that aquarists treat with genuine respect.

Full Neolamprologus christyi account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Neolamprologus christyi "Kisambala"
  2. FishBase: Neolamprologus christyi (summary, ID 8655)
  3. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (California Academy of Sciences)
  4. FishBase point/occurrence data for Neolamprologus christyi
  5. GBIF: Neolamprologus christyi (Trewavas & Poll, 1952)
  6. Sturmbauer et al. (2010), Evolutionary history of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid tribe Lamprologini (Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.)