In the spring of 1997 I purchased one of the last bags of fish at the MAS Auction. I really did not intend to buy any fish but at $2.00 who could refuse. The bag contained 5 small but colorful Neolamprologus leleupi. The leleupi were initially placed in a 20 gal. long tank were they stayed until they attained the size of 2-3 inches. The leleupi were then moved to a 55 gal. tank. Also in this tank were 6 Labidochromis caeruleus of equal size. The tank was filter by an undergravel filter and an external power filter. The water temperature was kept at 78 degrees. The fish were fed twice a day with a mixture of OSI Cichlid Flakes and Spirulina Flakes. The tank contained a mixture of medium size gravel and crushed coral, which was 2 to 3 inches deep. The tank also included numerous rock formations, which allowed hiding places for the fish. You can imagine the above combination of fish provided for a very dull aquarium. The leleupi proved to be more active then the caerleus as they occassionaly fought for dominance. Once dominance had been established by 1 of the males plastic plants were added to the tank. These plants were heavily planted on the outer perimeter of his territory. Not only did they define his territory but later on proved helpful in defense of the pairs fry.

Life in the aquarium was quite normal and peaceful until March of 1998. This is when I first noticed that the smallest of the leleupi was spending her day in 1 of the caves. The largest of the leleupi was spending his day chasing away any fish that came within 2 feet of his new mate. This routine was carried on for eight days. On the eight day I finally noticed the movement of several small fry. The female provided all the care that was necessary. The 11 fry were freely swimming in a area that the female patrolled. She had no problems defending her area from intruders including the male leleupi. The male leleupi also had no problems keeping the other occupants of the tank confined to the furthest third of the tank. The fry were fed baby brine shrimp both freshly hatched and frozen. The fry were allowed to stay in the 55 gal tank for 4 weeks. At this time the 11fry and the 3 extra male leleupi were removed. The fry were placed in a 20 gal tank were they continued to grow.

After removing the fry and extra males from the tank I anxiously awaited the next spawn. Well guess what, May and June had passed and my pair of leleupi had not spawned. Seeing I had nothing to lose I decided to rearrange the rock formations and see what would happen. The next day I observed the female excavating gravel under a large rock. This took her several days to accomplish. After the cave excavation was completed the male finally began to show interest in the female again. Well within 2 days the courtship had been completed and the female was again hiding in her cave. After another wait of 7 days I observed 25 –30 fry freely swimming in the area of the cave. I guess this spawn just proves the old adage change is good. Again I plan to keep the fry with the parents for at least a month. I really enjoy watching the interaction between the parents and the fry. After approximately a month I removed 18 healthy fry approximately ¼ inch in size. Also during this time period my Labidochromis caeruleus have produced several broods of fry. While this may not be the best way of keeping these 2 species of fish the results have been good for me. I guess the best way to keep fish and produce fry is the way that works best for you. After all even the experts had to start somewhere.