Care
The Tanganyikan Bullhead Catfish is endemic to Lake Tanganyika, Africa. During daylight hours, this small and secretive bottom-dweller takes refuge amongst rocks, and emerges at night to feed on beetle larvae, chironomid larvae, small crustaceans, and occasional vegetable matter. The aquarium should be spacious with a soft sandy substrate in order to protect the delicate sensory barbels. It should be decorated with an abundance of rock piles and caves along with some PVC tubes and robust planting (that can cope with hard, alkaline conditions) to provide welcome shady areas. Filtration should be efficient and the water well-oxygenated with a moderate current. Frequent partial water changes are a must to help keep nitrate to a minimum. These fish are most comfortable in aquaria with subdued lighting, and the use of blue-moon type illumination is highly recommended so that you may observe a few hours of the nightly goings-on in an aquarium containing these catfish. Ensure that heaters are covered with heater guards to prevent them from being burned when looking for dark crevices to rest against. A peaceable and fairly gregarious species, L. cyclurus should be kept in groups of 5 or more. Companions should be relatively peaceful and larger than 2.5cm (1") in length (otherwise they may be predated upon); they do well as part of a Tanganyikan community of medium-sized fish. It is believed that these catfish can exude a mucus when stressed, which is poisonous to other fish, although further study is required. However, if this is the case, it should not cause an issue in large volumes of water with decent filtration and an appropriate environment in which the fish are content and settled. May also be seen on sale as African Bullhead Catfish.
Feeding
Omnivorous with a preference for meaty foods. Offer a variety of frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, Mysis shrimp etc., along with some sinking catfish pellets/tablets/granules. Be sure to offer occasional vegetable matter such as cucumber and courgette, along with some algae wafers.
Breeding
This species has been bred in aquaria, but details are few and far between. Eggs are said to be deposited in a rocky cave, and hatch in approximately 4-5 days (temperature dependent).
