Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Neolamprologus sexfasciatus

Neolamprologus sexfasciatus "Kisambala"

Kisambala — kee-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 sexfasciatus 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 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 Kisambala population

Neolamprologus sexfasciatus "Kisambala" is the Kisambala population of Neolamprologus sexfasciatus, 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 sexfasciatus, 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 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 "Kisambala"
  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')