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Tank Size:

A pair can be kept in a 10 gallon tank, a colony should be kept in a 29 gallon. These fish are the smallest discovered cichlid species, females only getting an inch long, males only reaching 1.5-2. more females than males should be provided in a colony setting.

Feeding:

Should be fed on a diet high in crustacean protein.

Tank Mates:

Julidochromis species, Brichardi species, and other smaller rock dwelling cichlids of tanganyika make good tank mates. These fish are highly territorial and should have the ground space and shells to themselves. They will not be afraid to attack you if you get too close to their shell. They will dig a pit around their territory and any fish that gets too close to the pit will be viciously attacked, even if several times larger than the multi.

Sexing:

Males are larger than females.

Decor:

A lot of seashells, preferably about the size of a ping pong ball. Escargot shells work nicely, and are light enough for the fish to move around, if they feel the need. A pair should get at least 10 shells, a colony should have about 50.

Water Perimeters:

Temperature needs to be kept at 78F, pH around 8.2 Fluctuations are not tolerated, and these fish are not advised to beginners, especially in a small setting like a 10 gallon, where the perimeters are harder to keep stable.

Other:

Very interesting fish, and make a good fish for those wanting something interesting, but have space constraints, provided you can keep the water right for them.

due to the unique requirements of Tanganyika fish, its advised to keep them with other tanganyikan fish. The water is so hard in these tanks it'll actually clog the blood stream of an average schooler with mineral deposits over time. Due to their nitrate sensitivity (about 6x more sensitive to nitrate than your average aquarium fish) its best to keep the tank under stocked. People in larger set ups like my 50 gallon keep them with cyprichromis and paracyprichromis which are open water cichlids, but cyps are very prone to disease as well, and are schooling fish which do best in groups of 8 or more, so a 4 footer is needed.