Lake Tanganyika

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Lake
Lake Tanganyika is one my personnal favorites of the African Rift Lakes because of the beauty and variety of the fish located there. Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in the world measuring 1470km at its deepest.  The lake itself has been around for twenty million years and has been isolated from any other major body of water for 6 million years. The fish of this lake are so varied that new species of fish are being found all the time allowing a thriving hobby of new fish arriving all the time.

The Fish

The fish of Lake Tanganyika are some of the most diversified in the world and for this reason I will only deal with the fish I have personally kept or have read extensively on.

In the Sand
The sand dwellers of lake are among some of the most beautiful, if not fragile, fish in lake.  Such species as Callochromis, Enantiopus, Cyathofarnx, Opathaltilapia, and Spilonotus call the sand their home and the fact of the matter is that most of  these species need sand in order to survive.  The fish ingest the sand in order to help digest food, much like a bird does. 

Enantiopus:  Enantiopus is a very peaceful sand dweller from Lake Tanganyika that attains a maximum length of around 5-6 in.  In the wild the fish school in groups of hundreds of fish with more males than females.  The males of the species construct turret nests and fan out their fins in order to attract females.  In the aquarium the fish are always highly prized by enthusiasts, but the most sought after type is the "Kilesa" variety.  These fish require a tank with absolutely no aggressive fish.  Good choices are various cyprichromis species along with various feather fins.