Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Neolamprologus multifasciatus

Neolamprologus multifasciatus "Mpulungu"

Mpulungu — m-poo-LOON-goo (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 multifasciatus account →

Specific to Mpulungu

  • 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 multifasciatus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size2 in5 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.5–9alkaline
Depth10–82 ft3–25 m
DietMicro-predator; primarily zooplankton (tiny crustaceans and invertebrates) drifting above the shell bed, supplemented by small benthic invertebrates.
BreedingShell-brooding substrate spawner inside empty Neothauma snail shells.~10–30 eggs (small clutch, genus-typical for shell brooders)
Sexual dimorphismYesMales substantially larger than females; both sexes deepen in color when breeding, females flushing a warmer rust tone.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Mpulungu population

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

Colour reference: living Mpulungu fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Neolamprologus multifasciatus, the "multi," is a shell-dwelling cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika and routinely billed as the smallest cichlid in the world, with mature fish often shorter than a thumbnail. It lives buried among the empty snail shells that carpet parts of the lake floor, where each fish excavates and fiercely guards its own shell while the colony as a whole defends a shared patch of sand. Despite its size, it sustains one of the most intensely studied social systems of any fish: stable, multi-generational groups that persist for years and turn the lakebed into a cratered, almost lunar landscape.

Full Neolamprologus multifasciatus account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Neolamprologus multifasciatus "Mpulungu"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — species record for Lamprologus/Neolamprologus multifasciatus
  3. FishBase — Neolamprologus multifasciatus summary
  4. GBIF — Neolamprologus multifasciatus (Boulenger, 1906)
  5. iNaturalist — Multi (Neolamprologus multifasciatus)
  6. Jordan, Lein, Ma & Bose (2026) — Societies of the shell-dwelling cichlid Neolamprologus multifasciatus, Animal Behaviour