Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Neolamprologus sexfasciatus

Neolamprologus sexfasciatus "Cape Tembwe"

Cape Tembwe — KAYP TEHM-bweh (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 sexfasciatus account →

Specific to Cape Tembwe

  • 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 sexfasciatus.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5.9 in15 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH8–9alkaline
Depth7–10 ft2–3 m
DietOpportunistic carnivore; invertebrates (insects, crustaceans, mollusks) taken from the substrate, with small fish seized when opportunity arises
BreedingCave spawner (substrate brooder)~500 eggs
Sexual dimorphismYesMales grow noticeably larger than females; sexing by eye is otherwise difficult
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Cape Tembwe population

Neolamprologus sexfasciatus "Cape Tembwe" is the Cape Tembwe population of Neolamprologus sexfasciatus, 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 Neolamprologus sexfasciatus, distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Cape Tembwe fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Neolamprologus sexfasciatus, the six-barred Lamprologus, is a stocky, boldly banded cichlid endemic to the southern half of Lake Tanganyika. Its common name is also its field mark: six dark vertical bars, one more than the otherwise near-identical Neolamprologus tretocephalus, which it overlaps with along parts of the shore without interbreeding. Reaching about 6 in (15 cm) and famously intolerant of its own kind, it is a fish that hobbyists admire on sight and then think twice about bringing home.

Full Neolamprologus sexfasciatus account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Neolamprologus sexfasciatus "Cape Tembwe"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: sexfasciatus, Lamprologus (Trewavas & Poll 1952), valid as Neolamprologus sexfasciatus
  3. FishBase: Neolamprologus sexfasciatus (Trewavas & Poll, 1952)
  4. GBIF: Neolamprologus sexfasciatus occurrence records
  5. Sefkar / Sturisoma: 'Mating and Parental Care in Lake Tanganyika's Cichlids' (review citing Gashagaza 1991 on lamprologine breeding)
  6. Gashagaza et al.: Comparative study on the food habits of six species of Lamprologus (cited in 'The Cichlid Fish Assemblages of Lake Tanganyika')