Roloff's Krib

About

Found in the river systems stretching from Guinea down through western Liberia, this obscure West African dwarf cichlid, Pelvicachromis roloffi, occupies a niche similar to its better-known cousins in the kribensis group. In the wild it favors smaller rivers and shaded creeks, occasionally venturing into the calmer shallows along the margins of larger waterways. It stays compact in the aquarium, making it workable in a reasonably sized tank without demanding the space that larger cichlids require. Like other members of the genus, roloffi is a cave spawner that forms genuine pair bonds, and watching a bonded pair set up house and defend a chosen spawning site is one of the real pleasures of keeping this fish. That territorial behavior around breeding does mean tankmates need some thought. Other bottom-dwellers can draw aggression when a pair is in spawning mode, so giving them space and choosing dither fish that stay higher in the water column helps considerably. The water in its natural range runs soft and on the acidic side, and while it tolerates a modest range, keeping conditions close to those parameters tends to bring out the best coloration and encourages spawning. Not a fish for total beginners, but a rewarding project for anyone ready to move beyond the basics of cichlid keeping.