Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Neolamprologus splendens

Neolamprologus splendens "Tembwe (Deux)"

Tembwe (Deux) — TEHM-bweh DEH-oox (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 splendens account →

Specific to Tembwe (Deux)

  • 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 splendens.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.1 in8 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.5–9alkaline
Depth66–131 ft20–40 m
DietZooplankton and small invertebrates picked from the water column above rocks; also gleans tiny crustaceans and insect larvae from substrate biocover.
BreedingCave substrate spawner; lays eggs on the wall or ceiling of a rock crevice or excavated cave.Small clutches; typical of the Brichardi complex — exact counts not formally published for this species.
Sexual dimorphismYesAdult males tend to run slightly larger; otherwise the sexes are very difficult to distinguish visually — behavior during pairing is the more reliable indicator.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Tembwe (Deux) population

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

Colour reference: living Tembwe (Deux) fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Neolamprologus splendens is a small lamprologine cichlid known only from a short stretch of the Congolese shore of Lake Tanganyika, near Cape Zongwe. A cave-dwelling member of the so-called "Brichardi complex" of fairy cichlids, it forms loose schools over rocky reef and is a substrate spawner with the extended, multi-generation family care that makes that group famous. It sits at the center of a long-running naming tangle with its close relative Neolamprologus helianthus, the "sunflower" cichlid, and the two are easily confused in the hobby.

Full Neolamprologus splendens account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Neolamprologus splendens "Tembwe (Deux)"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: species entry for Lamprologus/Neolamprologus splendens
  3. FishBase: Neolamprologus splendens (Brichard, 1989)
  4. GBIF: Neolamprologus helianthus Büscher, 1997 (taxon record)
  5. O'Reilly et al. 2003, Climate change decreases aquatic ecosystem productivity of Lake Tanganyika (Nature; PubMed abstract)
  6. Cohen et al. 2016, Climate warming reduces fish production and benthic habitat in Lake Tanganyika (PNAS)