# Interesting Tanganyikan behavior



## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

I had a breeding pair of Neolamprologus Leleupi in my community tank. They bred for me quite a few times a little over a year ago, and then stopped. I assumed it was due to the fact that I wasn't keeping the tank in the cleanest condition at the time. A few months ago I moved my tank to a new house, and 5 of my 6 Leleupi got a fungus. 4 of the 5 infected passed away. The largest male was the only survivor, and one female was entirely unaffected. After all of the other competing Leleupi were out of the picture, the remaining male and female paired up again and have stayed together, even through another move, up until recently. 

A few weeks ago they had a batch of eggs, and the fry survived for a little over a week and then were all consumed by the rest of the tanks inhabitants. Ever since the babies were consumed, the pair has "broken up" and now the male chases the female up behind the filter. I had heard of these fish sometimes breaking up if you remove the babies all at once, but have never heard of them doing it simply because the tank-mates had gotten in the way.

My only guess is that the male has deemed her an unfit mother to protect his young, and now wants nothing to do with her. Just another reason I love these fish. They never cease to show their personalities.


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Lol! That's funny. No one believes me when I say fish have personality, but a lot of them do,lol. Loving my new, and very first tangs.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

So if she is found to be an unfit mother, will she be forced to pay child support?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Yep, cichlid divorce. In a small tank, often fatal. Don't believe any "mate for life" stuff, its all hooey. Cichlids have strong opinions and show them. 

I have some young lelupi and I'm waiting for them to pair up. They are just starting to chase each other. What did yours lay eggs in?


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

Mine have always been cave spawners. 2 out of the 3 spawning locations have been behind a rock in the corner of the tank so I always got a great view. Sometimes she clears out all the sand and lays the eggs on the glass, and other times she lays them all on the side of the rock. One time they dug a giant tunnel system under a rock pile and laid the eggs in the darkest cavern and I only found the babies when I tore down the tank.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

BV77 said:


> So if she is found to be an unfit mother, will she be forced to pay child support?


Hahaha. The judge (in the form of a very disruptive Brichardi) seems to be making sure the male doesn't cause too much damage. They always favor the mother.

ZebraDanio, what kind of Tangs did you get?


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

Neolamp Multis. Think my female has eggs. cool little guys!


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