Cyathopharynx furcifer “Cape Kabogo” - II

by Frank Panis

(An enthusiastic report on Cyathopharynx furcifer “Cape Kabogo”)

Here comes the list of demands that Cyathopharynx furcifer presents: 
It’s definitely not a starter fish or the first step up after the goldfish tank (with all respect to the goldfish itself who deserves a much better treatment than it gets on average). The furcifer helps himself quite a bit in this area, as it doesn’t show any colour at all when it doesn’t feel perfectly at ease, so potential buyers will skip the tank in the shop where it resides anyway. Also most people who are new into cichlid keeping want instant results and don’t have the patience to wait until this furcifer finally decides to show some colour, in contrary to the very popular Lake Malawi Mbuna that is “flashy” in most cases from the first day that it hatched from the egg! Moreover, the Cyathopharynx will only be found in highly specialized African cichlid shops as there are only few hobbyists who know that it pays off to be patient and take good care of their fish and finally buy them. There are even more issues to deal with: Cyathopharynx furcifer won’t be happy with a standard-size tank. As they’re best kept in a group of 8 fish or more and they make huge nests for breeding purposes, they will require a very large tank with a massive floor space! I keep them in a 1500L tank with an almost square bottom, what enables two males to establish a territory at the same time. This is a very impressive sight: two crater nests can be found in both opposite corners! To enjoy these fish to the maximum I would like to advise to keep them in a 80cm deep X 200cm long X 70cm high tank what results in a net volume of about 1000L. Sand is the one and only material that can be used as a substrate for these fish, and they need huge amounts of it! In my 1500L tank the furcifer males already reduced the thickness of the sand bottom to half in order to use it for their nests, and I can still see them stealing sand from the poor Enantiopus kilesa! I once heard that the height limit of their nest is closely related to the height of the tank, what certainly sounds good with my set-up in mind! After all the 1500L monster is 90cm high! Also big rocks are a must, as they are used as shelter, territory mark and nest support.
Then there also are the co-inhabitants. There is no doubt that only other peaceful Tanganyika cichlids should be kept together with Cyathopharynx furcifer. No Tropheus, Petrochromis, or other aggressive species should be allowed in the same tank. Also Synodontis should be avoided as they disturb the Cyathopharynx at night. A very welcome guest on the other hand is a Cyprichromis sp. These formidable cichlids do team up with the Cyathopharynx in an excellent way as they add a feeling of safety and reduce stress by swimming in the mid-water so the Cyathopharynx think there are no predators around.

Some pictures from the nest of this remarkable Tanganyika cichlid:

To give you an idea of the size of this nest. In a small tank this construction can never be built!!

The male patrols over his nest

Barely visible. When the fish is at the bottom of his nest he completely gets out of sight!

More high quality photos: Click on the thumbnails below for a larger image.

Photo of the Month: May 2004

Last, but not least there are two video clips. One shows the male over its nest and the other displaying to a female.

When all these requirements are met and you have a nice group of at least 2 or more males and 5 or more females and you're willing to give them some time to settle,  you'll be rewarded with the best behaviour and colours of one of the nicest cichlids that can be found in the African lakes.

Enjoy your cichlids!