Ocellated Shell-Dweller (Lamprologus ocellatus)

Ocellated Shell-Dweller overview

Ocellated Shell-Dweller (Lamprologus ocellatus) is a small Lake Tanganyika cichlid with outsized behaviour. It is also commonly treated as Neolamprologus ocellatus, but the important care facts are shell-bed habitat, hard alkaline water and territorial behaviour around chosen shells.

Quick facts

Care notes

Use fine sand and several empty shells per fish. Territory is centred on shells, so plan shell spacing carefully and avoid delicate bottom dwellers that will be pushed out of the shell bed.

Ordering from Tropical Fish Co

Livestock is packed for delivery by a licensed live-animal courier and covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee when the policy conditions are followed.

Species facts

Published records for Lamprologus ocellatus — useful when planning the aquarium around the adult fish rather than the size supplied. The wild range below is what FishBase lists; the care range on this listing (24–27 °C) is what we keep the fish at.

• Maximum recorded length: 5.8 cm (FishBase)
• Wild water temperature: 23–25 °C (FishBase)
• Wild pH: 8–9 (FishBase)
• Wild hardness: 9–19 dGH (FishBase)
• Environment: Freshwater, benthopelagic (FishBase)
• IUCN Red List: Least Concern (FishBase)

Keeping notes

Hardness 10–20 dGH. Typical lifespan around 5 years with stable water. Swims mainly in the bottom part of the aquarium. Breeding difficulty: easy.

Sources

• FishBase — Lamprologus ocellatus