Frog-faced Cichlid

About

A dwarf cichlid from the shell beds of Lake Tanganyika, Lamprologus ocellatus is one of the most character-packed fish you can keep in a small aquarium. Barely reaching two and a half inches at its largest, it nonetheless carries itself with the confidence of something much bigger. In the wild it occupies empty Neothauma snail shells, sometimes forming loose aggregations alongside the similar L. brevis. A species you can tell apart from ocellatus by the absence of vertical barring on its flanks. Both are sometimes called frog-faced cichlids, a nod to their distinctly bulbous facial features. In the aquarium the shell obsession is front and center: a female will bury her chosen shell until only the opening breaks the sand surface, defend it against tankmates several times her size, and rear her fry entirely within it. Males are polygamous and hold broader territories. Despite the territorial behavior, ocellatus combines reasonably well with rock-dwelling or open-water Tanganyikan species that keep to different zones of the tank. A colony setup works well if shells are plentiful and females outnumber males. Breeding is fairly straightforward, making this an accessible species for intermediate keepers wanting their first taste of shell-brooding cichlids. A gold color form has also become widely available.