Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Neolamprologus ventralis

Neolamprologus ventralis "Kekese"

Kekese — keh-KEH-seh (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 ventralis account →

Specific to Kekese

  • 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 ventralis.

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2025
CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size3.9 in10 cm total length
Temperature73–81 °F23–27 °C
pH7.5–9alkaline
Depth66–197 ft20–60 m
DietBenthic invertebrate forager; stomach contents include copepods, small crustaceans, aquatic insect larvae, algae, snail remnants, and incidental sand — trophic level ~3.5.
BreedingCave spawner (substrate brooder)Fewer than 40 fry per spawn
Sexual dimorphismYesSubtle and population-dependent: at some sites males are slightly larger and brighter; at others the sexes appear nearly identical and vent-sexing is the reliable method.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Kekese population

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

Colour reference: living Kekese fish at tanganyika.si →

About the species

Neolamprologus ventralis is a small, deepwater cichlid found only in Lake Tanganyika, named for the trait that instantly sets it apart: a pair of thread-thin pelvic (ventral) fins that stream back past the base of the tail. Described only in 1995 from rock-and-sand habitat well below the diving zone, it is a solitary, territorial fish rarely seen shallower than about 30 m (100 ft). Sought after but uncommon in the hobby, it is prized by Tanganyika specialists for its filamentous finnage and notoriously short fuse toward its own kind.

Full Neolamprologus ventralis account →

Sources

  1. tanganyika.si — Neolamprologus ventralis "Kekese"
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — original description reference (Büscher 1995, DATZ 48(6):379-382)
  3. FishBase — Neolamprologus ventralis summary (depth, diet, distribution, size, IUCN line)
  4. FishBase — Tanganyika territory record for N. ventralis (Kigoma)
  5. O'Reilly et al. 2003 — Climate change decreases aquatic ecosystem productivity of Lake Tanganyika (Nature)
  6. O'Reilly et al. 2003 — full text PDF (Africa Museum)