All fish / Cichlidae

Emperor Cichlid

Boulengerochromis microlepis

Also known as emperor cichlid, giant cichlid, giant tanganyika cichlid, yellow belly cichlid, nkupi, boulengerochromis, ブーレンジェロクロミス・ミクロレピス, 皇帝慈鲷

This is the largest cichlid in the world. It has a long, silvery body with yellowish flanks and rows of dark spots, and in the wild it can reach about 80 cm. Specialist keepers and public aquaria keep it as a showpiece predator from Lake Tanganyika.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Aggressive

Adult size

45 cm

Temperature

24 to 27 °C

pH

7.8 to 9

Smallest tank

2000 litres

Keep as

Single specimen or a mated pair in a very large system

Diet

Carnivore: fish fillet, prawns, mussels, large pellets

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

7 to 10 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia)

Breeding

Pairs lay several thousand eggs on a cleared rock or substrate, and both parents guard the eggs and the shoaling young for weeks. It is rarely bred in home aquariums because adults need such a huge tank, though it has been spawned in large public displays.

Good to know

Adults outgrow almost every home aquarium and will eat any fish that fits in their mouth, so they are best left to public aquaria. Its wild numbers are falling because of heavy fishing, and it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.