Ophthalmotilapia boops Breeding Guide

How to breed the featherfin Ophthalmotilapia boops: sand bowers, pelvic-fin egg dummies, harem ratios and maternal mouthbrooding of up to 60 eggs.

Overview

Ophthalmotilapia boops is a Lake Tanganyika featherfin of about 15 cm and a maternal mouthbrooder. Males construct breeding sites in sandy areas, excavating a crater-like nest, and display to attract females. As in other Ophthalmotilapia, males bear egg-dummy structures on their long pelvic fins.

Sexing

Males are larger and more colourful with longer fins than females, particularly the ventral (pelvic) fins. Submissive females may show bold black banding, and they remain plainer overall than displaying males.

Conditioning

Condition the group on quality foods and keep several females with a single male to spread male attention and limit harassment of any one female.

Breeding Setup

Provide a large tank with open sandy substrate for the bower. Maintain pH around 7.5-9.0, hardness 8-25 dH and a temperature of roughly 23-27 C (73-81 F), as for the rest of the genus.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The male displays at his crater. The egg-shaped structures at the ends of his long pelvic fins attract the female; when she tries to add them to the brood in her mouth she instead receives sperm from the male, fertilising the eggs orally.

Egg & Fry Care

The female may carry a brood of up to about 60 eggs for around three weeks before releasing the free-swimming fry. The fry are large enough to take brine shrimp nauplii and crushed spirulina flake from the day they are released.

Common Challenges

An open sand area is essential for the bower; rock-cluttered tanks suppress nest building. Several females per male help manage male aggression, and stable warm, hard, alkaline water must be held throughout the brooding period.