Altolamprologus compressiceps — Kigoma

Altolamprologus compressiceps — Kigoma: what you are buying

Altolamprologus compressiceps is a Lake Tanganyika cichlid, and this listing is for the fish traded as Lamprologus comp. kigoma, with Kigoma as its trade form name. Each purchase is one live fish, dispatched at 4–5 cm. That figure describes the fish when it leaves us rather than the size it will reach, so plan the aquarium for a grown fish. It needs hard, alkaline water and a tank stocked only with other Lake Tanganyika species.

What you receive

• One fish per purchase. For more than one, increase the quantity; each unit is another single fish.
• One dispatch size, 4–5 cm. This listing has a single size, so quantity is the only thing to decide.
• No sex selection. Read the growth and sex section before planning a pair.

Two names, one fish

Trade labels do not always keep pace with scientific names, and this fish shows why that matters. It reaches the aquarium trade under the shorthand Lamprologus comp. kigoma, while Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes records the current valid name as Altolamprologus compressiceps (Boulenger 1898). We lead with the valid name so that anything you look up about the fish matches the right species, and keep the trade label beside it so you can match it to the name on dealers’ lists. Kigoma stays outside the scientific name because it is a trade form label, not part of the species name.

Where it fits among African lake cichlids

Malawi cichlids are the best-known African lake fish, but OATA points out that the cichlid family includes many other African species, such as those from Lake Tanganyika, that are also excellent aquarium inhabitants and usually undemanding once their needs are met. OATA names Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria as the two most famous cichlid lakes after Malawi. This fish sits on the Tanganyika side of that picture, which is why its companions and planning follow Tanganyika rules rather than Malawi ones. It also narrows your research: when you read up on possible companions, Tanganyikan species are the only ones worth shortlisting.

Is it the right fish for you?

Three questions settle it. Can you hold hard, alkaline water steady? The OATA care sheet for African lake cichlids gives 23–27°C and pH 8.0–8.6 as its general guide for the group, with hard general and carbonate hardness. Will every other fish in the tank come from Lake Tanganyika? OATA advises stocking African lake species only with others from the same location and does not generally recommend mixing Malawi and Tanganyikan cichlids. And is the tank big enough for the community you have in mind once every fish is grown? If all three answers are yes, this is a fish for a considered Tanganyika set-up.

About the photographs

The four photographs show orange-gold fish with dark vertical bars and a tall dorsal fin: one fish among driftwood and ferns, two fish facing each other among plants, a side view against a plain background and a close view in front of a broad leaf. They illustrate the listing rather than showing the individual fish you will receive. Gallery images have been digitally enhanced to improve image quality. Natural colour, pattern, size and maturity can vary between live animals.

Preparing the aquarium

Size: plan for the finished community

OATA sizes the aquarium to the species rather than quoting one figure for every African lake cichlid, because these fish vary so much. Its examples show the spread: a pair of the smallest shell-dwellers needs an aquarium at least 45 cm long, while frontosa need a tank of about 180 cm and may need even more space as they grow, to accommodate territories.

For Altolamprologus compressiceps, size the tank for the whole community you intend to keep once every fish is grown, and follow OATA’s general rule of buying as large an aquarium as you reasonably can, because a larger volume keeps temperature and water quality more stable. If you are unsure whether your tank suits the community you have in mind, send us its length and the fish you plan to keep before ordering; OATA recommends checking that the aquarium is an appropriate size for the number of fish with your retailer first.

Questions to settle before you buy

Substrate and layout

OATA recommends fine coral sand or a similar substrate to buffer the water, which helps keep it hard and alkaline between water changes. Build the rest of the layout around the community rather than a single fish. Territories form around décor, and OATA notes that rearranging the décor can help reduce aggression as fish find new territories, so choose pieces you can move later. Any rockwork should sit securely on the tank base rather than on top of the sand.

Filtration and aeration

Every aquarium needs a filter, and RSPCA welfare guidance puts it plainly: no fish should be kept without a well set up and maintained filter. Its bacteria break down the ammonia that fish release, turning it into nitrite, which is also toxic, and then into nitrate, which is safer. Some African lake cichlid communities are deliberately crowded, and for those OATA recommends an oversized filter and vigorous aeration so the water holds enough dissolved oxygen. Even in a lightly stocked Tanganyika tank, generous filtration gives you a margin for error.

Starting from scratch? Our guide to setting up and maturing a first aquarium explains how to get the filter established before livestock arrives.

Heating

Fit a thermostatic heater and a thermometer, and keep the temperature steady inside OATA’s 23–27°C for African lake cichlids. OATA’s point about larger tanks applies here as well: the more water there is, the more slowly temperature and quality drift.

A fish for the long term

OATA notes that African lake cichlids can live several years in a well-matured set-up with good water quality. Plan the tank, filter and routine for that timescale rather than for the first few months.

Water for a Lake Tanganyika cichlid

OATA describes African lake cichlids as specialised fish that need particular water parameters. The values below are its general guide for the group, and it advises checking any species-specific requirements with your retailer before buying.

Start with your tap

Your tap water is the foundation of a Tanganyika tank, because every water change adds more of it. Test it for pH, general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) before you commit to the fish. Hard, alkaline tap water makes a Tanganyika aquarium far simpler to run. If yours is soft, the buffering substrate OATA recommends will help, and you should test the aquarium again once it has been running before any fish go in.

Test the tap for nitrate as well and write the figure down. OATA’s nitrate limit is relative: no more than 20 mg/l above normal tap water levels. The useful question is therefore not simply how much nitrate the aquarium holds, but how far it sits above your tap. As an example, if your tap reads 10 mg/l, OATA’s guidance means keeping the aquarium at no more than 30 mg/l; if the tap reads 25 mg/l, the ceiling becomes 45 mg/l. Regular partial water changes are what hold it there.

The water parameter matcher puts your readings side by side with figures like these, and our guide to what to test in aquarium water and why explains each measurement.

When a reading is off

If a reading will not settle, or a fish is showing any of the warning signs in the health section, get in touch and tell us your test results.

Keeping it steady

• Buffering. Carbonate hardness is the water’s resistance to a falling pH. Good KH, supported by a coral sand substrate, is what keeps pH in the alkaline range between water changes.
• Like for like. Make each water change with conditioned water at a similar temperature and hardness, so the fish never face a sudden swing.
• Zero tolerance for ammonia. OATA warns that African lake cichlids can be stressed by even the smallest amounts of ammonia, which is why weekly testing matters even when all looks well.
• Treat every drop. Tap water conditioner removes the chlorine or chloramine that would otherwise harm fish and filter bacteria.

Feeding

OATA’s feeding advice for African lake cichlids starts from one point: their diets vary. It sets out two broad directions.

A quality cichlid pellet or granule small enough for a 4–5 cm fish makes a practical base, with frozen foods from OATA’s list offered for variety. If you would like help matching food to the rest of your community, ask us and tell us what the other fish eat.

In a community that mixes species OATA would feed differently, offer food in more than one spot so each fish can eat without a scramble, and keep the portion rule for the tank as a whole.

Portions and timing

• Feed only what the fish can eat within a few minutes, twice a day.
• Take care not to overfeed. Uneaten food builds up and breaks down, releasing toxic waste into the water.
• In a mixed Tanganyika community, watch that slower or shyer fish get their share before the food is gone.
• Lift out any leftovers once the feeding window has passed.

Mealtimes are also the quickest health check you have. OATA lists reduced intake or lack of interest in food among the changes to watch, so a fish that ignores food it normally takes is worth a closer look and a water test.

Routine care and health

If the filter needs cleaning, do not run it under the tap: any chlorine or chloramine present may kill the beneficial bacteria established in the media. Rinse it lightly in the tank water removed during a partial water change instead, which keeps the loss of bacteria down.

Knowing when something is wrong

OATA suggests watching for changes in seven areas: swimming (hanging at the surface, sitting on the bottom or swimming erratically), colour (darker or paler than normal), temperament (a change in aggression, or hiding more than normal), breathing (gill covers moving faster or slower than usual), appearance (white spots, fluffy growths, or lost fins or scales), condition (gaining or losing weight) and feeding (eating less or losing interest). Noticing a change early gives you time to act before a small problem becomes a real health issue.

If you are concerned, OATA’s advice is to test your water quality first and then speak to your retailer. A healthy fish, by OATA’s description, has clear bright eyes, undamaged fins, intact scales, no ulcers or bumps and normal swimming; keep that picture in mind when you look over the tank.

Keep a simple log

A notebook or phone note with the date, your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings, the temperature and each water change turns weekly testing into a record you can read. Trends show up long before a crisis: a nitrate figure creeping further above your tap reading, for example, is a prompt to look at feeding, stocking and the water change routine before the fish show any sign.

Company is part of health

OATA’s biology notes carry a warning worth repeating here: very few, if any, African lake cichlids do well when kept singly, and they are likely to become stressed. A fish that hides constantly, loses colour or stops feeding may be reacting to its company as much as to its water, so review numbers and tank mates alongside your test results.

Delivery and the first month

Our team hand-bags each fish in pure oxygen and packs it in an insulated poly box, adding a heat pack when the weather calls for it. A licensed live-animal courier carries the parcel on a tracked service, and we email you the tracking number and your confirmed delivery date. Our delivery and Live Arrival Guarantee page sets out the full terms, with short clips from our fishroom on unpacking and acclimatising.

Have these ready

• Test results from the day before, showing zero ammonia and nitrite.
• A phone with enough charge and storage to record the unboxing without stopping.
• A small net, so the fish can be moved across without any bag water.
• Tap water conditioner for any top-up afterwards.
• Your order number, with our WhatsApp contact saved, so you can reach us the same day if needed.

The day it arrives

1. Make sure someone is at the delivery address to receive the parcel. Live fish cannot be left unattended, and the guarantee depends on it.
2. Film a continuous unboxing video: the parcel still sealed with the outer box in view, opened in one take, with the fish still in its sealed bag.
3. Open and inspect the parcel the same day.
4. Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 20–30 minutes before releasing the fish.
5. Transfer the fish without pouring the bag water into your tank.

Something wrong? Contact us the same day, by WhatsApp for the quickest reply, with your order number and the unboxing video, and we will arrange a replacement or refund.

Before it goes in

OATA’s checklist is short: make sure the aquarium is an appropriate size for the number of African lake cichlids you want to keep, and that ammonia and nitrite both read zero. Run those tests the day before delivery so there are no surprises.

The first month

Grow the community slowly. The bacteria in a matured filter need to increase every time fish are added and feeding goes up, and overstocking or stocking too quickly can cause new tank syndrome: there are not enough nitrifying bacteria to cope with the extra waste, ammonia and nitrite rise to unhealthy levels, and fish may become ill or die.

OATA also suggests it may be best to add some African lake cichlids in groups, so that no individual receives unnecessary aggression while it settles, and to add more peaceful species before the more aggressive ones. If this fish is joining an established tank, rearrange the décor at the same time; residents then have to find new territories too.

For the first fortnight, test ammonia and nitrite more often than usual, keep portions small and look over every fish each day using the signs in the health section.

Growth, sex and appearance

Dispatch size and growth

Each fish is dispatched at 4–5 cm, the single size offered on this listing. That is a snapshot of the fish when it leaves us, not the length it will reach, so size the tank, filtration and companions for the grown fish. Buying at this size also means the fish grows up in your aquarium, alongside the community you have planned for it.

Review the plan as the fish grows. Space, filtration and the balance of the community all change as fish mature, and a tank that feels roomy in the first month can feel very different a year later.

Males, females and pairs

Sex is guaranteed only when the selected option explicitly states male or female. This Lamprologus comp. kigoma listing has no sex-guaranteed option.

Fish are supplied without sex selection, so a male and a female cannot be ordered as such. If you hope to end up with both sexes, buying more than one fish raises the chance but cannot make it certain, and every extra fish has to fit your stocking plan and tank size.

Colour and pattern

The photographs show orange-gold fish with dark vertical bars. Individual live fish differ, and colour, pattern and size change with maturity, so judge the fish you receive on its health and behaviour rather than on how closely it matches a picture.

Planning a Lake Tanganyika community

OATA’s general rule for African lake cichlids is to stock them only with other species from the same location, such as a Lake Tanganyikan community. It does not generally recommend mixing Malawi and Tanganyikan cichlids, because of differences in temperament and behaviour. So the first test for any companion is simple: is it from Lake Tanganyika?

Choosing companions

The second test takes more work. OATA points out that African lake cichlids vary in size and temperament, so research each species’ compatibility before adding it. Its own examples show how wide that range is: popular Tanganyikans include julies (Julidochromis species), the fairy cichlid (Neolamprologus pulcher), tropheus and frontosa (Cyphotilapia species), and sizes run from shell-dwellers of about 6 cm to frontosa of over 30 cm. Those names illustrate the lake’s variety; they are not a list of tank mates for this fish.

For each candidate, check its adult size, its diet (OATA separates herbivores such as tropheus from the larger predatory species) and its temperament, then confirm your tank can hold the grown community. Our African cichlid range is a convenient place to compare Tanganyikan species, but a shared lake does not by itself make two species compatible.

A planning order that works

1. Start with the tank: note its length and volume, because OATA ties aquarium size to the species kept.
2. List the species you like and strike out anything that is not from Lake Tanganyika.
3. Compare adult sizes, bearing in mind OATA’s range from shell-dwellers of about 6 cm to frontosa of over 30 cm.
4. Compare diets. Mixing herbivores such as tropheus with species that need a higher animal content means feeding two ways in one tank.
5. Compare temperaments and decide which species are the more peaceful ones, because they go in first.
6. Check the total against your filtration, then plan to add fish gradually rather than all at once.

Introducing a mixed community

• Peaceful species first. OATA recommends adding more peaceful species first and the more aggressive species later.
• Groups where it helps. It may be best to add some African lake cichlids in groups, so that no individual receives unnecessary aggression as they settle in.
• Slight overstocking for some species. OATA notes that some species need slight overstocking so that individuals are not overly aggressive to weaker members of the group.
• Move the décor. Rearranging the décor can help reduce aggression as fish find new territories.
• Not on its own. Very few, if any, African lake cichlids do well when kept singly.

What to leave out

• Malawi cichlids, which OATA does not generally recommend mixing with Tanganyikans.
• Fish from outside Lake Tanganyika, including soft-water community fish.
• Any species whose adult size your aquarium cannot accommodate.

Common questions

What size aquarium does Altolamprologus compressiceps need?

OATA sizes the aquarium to the species and the whole community rather than giving one figure for every African lake cichlid: a pair of the smallest shell-dwellers needs a tank at least 45 cm long, while frontosa need about 180 cm. Plan for the grown community, buy as large a tank as you reasonably can, and check your plans with us before ordering.

How many should I keep together?

Very few, if any, African lake cichlids do well when kept singly, and OATA says they are likely to become stressed on their own. The right number depends on the species and on the rest of the community, so settle the full stocking plan first and then build it up gradually.

Is Altolamprologus compressiceps suitable for beginners?

OATA describes African lake cichlids as usually undemanding and easy to keep once their needs are met. For a newer keeper that means a matured, hard-water aquarium stocked only with Lake Tanganyika species, with compatibility researched before each fish is added.

What does Altolamprologus compressiceps eat?

OATA notes that the diets of African lake cichlids vary, from herbivores such as tropheus to larger predatory species that need pellets with a higher animal content and frozen foods such as brine shrimp, prawns or cockles. Use a quality cichlid food as the base, add frozen foods for variety, and feed only what the fish can eat within a few minutes, twice a day.

What temperature and pH does Altolamprologus compressiceps need?

OATA’s group guidance for African lake cichlids is 23–27°C, pH 8.0–8.6, general hardness 12–18 °dH and carbonate hardness 10–15 °dKH, with ammonia and nitrite at zero and nitrate no more than 20 mg/l above your tap water.

Which fish can live with Altolamprologus compressiceps?

Only other species from Lake Tanganyika, following OATA’s rule that African lake cichlids are stocked with fish from the same location. Research each companion’s size and temperament first, because Tanganyikan cichlids vary widely.

Can it share a tank with Malawi cichlids?

OATA does not generally recommend mixing Malawi and Tanganyikan cichlids, because of differences in temperament and behaviour. Keep this fish in a Lake Tanganyika community instead.

How does the fish arrive alive in the UK?

It is hand-bagged in pure oxygen, packed in an insulated poly box with a heat pack when the weather calls for it, and carried on a tracked service by a licensed live-animal courier. Someone must be in to receive it; film a continuous unboxing video from the sealed parcel, open it the same day, and float the sealed bag for 20–30 minutes before releasing the fish without the bag water. That video is needed for any Live Arrival Guarantee claim.

References

• OATA: How to look after African lake cichlids: the UK ornamental fish trade body’s care sheet for African lake cichlids as a group, covering water values, aquarium size, compatibility, feeding, maintenance and health checks.
• RSPCA: aquarium environment: general welfare guidance on filters and how ammonia becomes nitrite and then nitrate.
• Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes: Altolamprologus compressiceps: the current valid scientific name used in the title.

Packing, courier and Live Arrival Guarantee details follow Tropical Fish Co’s own delivery page, linked in the arrival section.