Neolamprologus buescheri is found in the southern basin of Lake Tanganyika. There are geographical variations found along the coastline of Zambia and the southern coastlines of the Congo and Tanzania. Based on the photos in Ad Konings’ Tanganyika Cichlids in their natural habitat, 1998 Edition it appears that Neolamprologus Buescheri Zaire Yellow is from the population located at Kamakonde, Congo.

The male Neolamprologus buescheri is approximately 3 inches in length while the females are approximately two ½ inches. The body of the buescheri is a light gray with a washed out black checkerboard pattern. The pectoral and ventral fins are an intense yellow. The ventral fin also has a black band along the edge. The dorsal fin is a light yellow with two bands on the top of the fin. The inner band is black and the outer band is white. The buescheri has a lyre tail, which is yellow with white markings. The outer top edges of the tail are black.

As with most Neolamprologus maintaining and breeding them did not prove to be difficult. The only problem encountered with the Neolamprologus buescheri was its aggressiveness toward its own species. When describing the temperament of Neolamprologus buescheri in the aquarium aggressive is being charitable. The original group consisted of seven juveniles in a thirty-gallon long aquarium. After nine months, three fish where left in the tank, the dominant male and two surviving females. The dominant male had harassed the four deceased fish continuously. Two of the juveniles decided the basement floor would provide a safer environment, while other two eventually died in the tank. The tank contained a piece of Texas holey rock on one side and numerous rocks on the other side. These rocks on opposite sides of the tank provide a safe haven and breeding caves for the two remaining females. The male does not allow the females to venture from their respective breeding caves. Any time they try to venture out from the caves, they are immediately chased back by the male. Feeding time for the females consisted of short dashes for any flake food that may be falling near their caves.

When the Neolamprologus buescheri were approximately a year old, the first fry appeared. Two small ¼ inch fry were sitting on the piece of Texas holey rock. Since the BAP requires five fry for points, I decided to leave the fry with the parents and see what would happen. The buescheri did not provide any parental care. After another three weeks four more fry appeared. Within a month, all the fry had disappeared. I suspect the male buescheri was responsible for the demise of the fry. I added a large amount of rock to the tank in preparation for the future spawns. I was hoping the addition rocks would provide adequate hiding places for the fry. Over the next few months’ small groups of four or five fry appeared at appeared at regular intervals, until the 30-gallon aquarium contained approximately 30 fry. I watched the male chase and nip at the fry. The fry were able to escape to the numerous rocks before he was able inflict any damage to the fry. The fry ranged from a quarter to half inch in length. I decided to remove all the fry from the tank after another month. The fry were moved to a twenty-gallon high tank with a large amount of rockwork to provide protection for the smaller fry. The fry are fed finely crushed flake food and kept at a water temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit the same temperature as the adult tank.