Chanda ranga: Neolamprologus Leleupi Pseudotropheus

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Neolamprologus Leleupi Pseudotropheus

Neolamprologus Leleupi
Pseudotropheus

Pseudotropheus elegans are one of my favorite cichlids. Synonyms for this fish are Pseudotropheus acei, Pseudotropheus sp. "acei" and Gephyrochromis acei.

I found no reference to this fish at the Fishbase website. At any rate, like all Mbuna from Lake Malawi, they are maternal mouthbrooders. They get up to about 4-1/2 inches in length.

I first picked up these fish about ten years ago from a breeder in Racine, Wisconsin. The gentleman owned a Scandinavian furniture store, and sold a variety of cichlids from the back of the store. At this time, this fish was called Gephyrochromis acei and it immediately caught my eye. This is strikingly colored bluish-purple cichlid with yellow fins. While I was there, I picked up some Lemon Yellows, Labidochromis caeruleus and immediately took them to my home in Chicago.

My new prizes went into a planted fifty-five gallon tank built into the wall of my recreation room. It was one of my all-time favorite tank set-ups. The Yellow Labs and the elegans's really looked great together. My wife, a graphic designer, tells me that this is because yellow and purple are substractive complementary colors. It hurts even to write that, but they really did look nice together!

Ten years later, I picked up some juvenile Pseudotropheus elegans(labeled Haplochromis acei) at a GCCA auction and I was back in business. I eventually put them into a 100-gallon tank containing Lamprologus leleupi, Pseudotropheus gombi, Protomelas insignus and a bunch of dwarf plecos.

There are at least two fin varieties available: "Yellow Fin" and "White Fin". I prefer the yellow variety.