(This article was originally published in Cichlid News Magazine,
Jan-00 pp. 32-34, It is reproduced here with the permission of
author Ron Coleman and Aquatic promotions). While few cichlids
could ever be regarded as dull, some groups of cichlids are
particularly intriguing. The lamprologines are just such a
group. Cichlid aquarists and scientists alike are drawn to these
natives of Lake Tanganyika for all sorts of reasons. There are
plenty of forms, including roughly 85 described species (all
from Lake Tanganyika except for six species found in the Zaire
River system) and there are more species being described all the
time (Bills and Ribbink 1997). They come in a range of sizes
from tiny dwarf shell-dwellers to species over a foot in length,
and they exhibit a diversity of interesting behavior. Recent
cladistic analyses have taken place on Lepidiolamprologus
attenuatus. Photo by Don Danko. If you have followed these
fishes for the last few years, you are aware that generic names
applied to them keep changing