Kendall's Lamprologus

About

Three names, one fish, and it is worth getting them straight before buying. Lithuanian shops sell it as Neolamprologus kendalli; the valid name is Lepidiolamprologus kendalli (Poll & Stewart, 1977); and the same animal has spent decades in the hobby as nkambae, after Nkamba Bay in Zambia where Staeck described Lamprologus nkambae in 1978. Whether nkambae is a separate species is not settled and the sources disagree in print. Seriously Fish, reporting Kullander, Karlsson & Karlsson's 2012 description of Lepidiolamprologus kamambae in Zootaxa 3492, records that the paper synonymised L. nkambae with L. kendalli. Practical Fishkeeping's own nkambae feature takes the opposite view, saying the two look identical and come from the same place but that DNA analysis has revealed tiny differences between them. Wikipedia lists both Lamprologus kendalli (1977) and Lamprologus nkambae (1978) under the one accepted name, and honours Robert L. Kendall, the American fish ecologist who collected the type. One name this fish is not: Neolamprologus nigriventris. That is a genuinely different, much smaller species — Büscher, 1992, 10.3 cm TL on FishBase, from the intermediate habitat of the lake's south-western Congolese shore — and if a listing offers the two as the same thing, the listing is wrong. What you are actually buying is a rock-hugging ambush piscivore with a cylindrical body built to go into gaps after other fish. Practical Fishkeeping's summary is the sentence to remember: it 'should not be mixed with smaller fish as it will eat them'. Reported adult size varies more than it should — Practical Fishkeeping gives 14 cm, FishBase 16.0 cm TL, Wikipedia 18 cm and AquaInfo about 20 cm for males with females at 16-17 cm — and because understating adult size is the one mistake this catalogue refuses to make, we plan for 20 cm. On plants there is nothing to flag: this is a predator, it eats no vegetation and it does not excavate the substrate, so the only risk a large fish poses to a planted tank here is mechanical.

Care

A single fish or a bonded pair, and a long tank. Practical Fishkeeping's line is that 'A tank of 150cm/5′ plus is best for an adult or pair, as they do best as solitary predators', and we gate on that 150 cm and roughly 300 L; AquaInfo asks for at least 200 cm, which is the better target if you want tankmates as well. Build it as a rock tank over sand — caves and crevices big enough for a 20 cm fish to reverse into, arranged to break sight lines — and fit a firm lid, because AquaInfo asks for a secure cover to stop this fish putting itself out of the tank. Water hard and alkaline and well oxygenated: Practical Fishkeeping asks for 'Hard and alkaline, ideally very hard, with plenty of dissolved oxygen. Temperature 24-26 °C/75-79 °F, pH 7.5-9.' FishBase brackets it at 23-27 °C, pH 7.4-8.4 and 7-30 dH, so pH 8.0-8.6 at 25 °C sits comfortably inside every source. Tankmates must be too big to swallow: this is the wrong fish for shell-dwellers, Cyprichromis, small Julidochromis or anything's fry, and the right one for adult frontosa, larger Altolamprologus and robust Tanganyikan rock cichlids. Pairs form best by growing a group on and letting one pair claim each other; two unpaired adults in a small tank is a fight.

Diet

Piscivore, but not one that needs live fish. Large sinking carnivore pellets plus frozen mysis, krill, prawn and mussel; no feeder fish, no mammalian or avian meat.

Telling males from females

What works for this species, most reliable first.

• Extended finsStrong · from about 8 months, and later in a suppressed male

  On many cichlids and killifish the male's dorsal and anal fins draw out into trailing points as he matures, while the female's stay rounded.

• VentingA hint only · only on a mature fish, easiest when she is in breeding condition

  The method breeders use when the answer has to be right. Hold the fish upside down in a wet hand or soft net and look at the two openings ahead of the anal fin. The forward one is the anus; the one behind it is what you are reading.

• Adult sizeA hint only · only across animals of the same age

  In many cichlids, catfish and loaches one sex simply grows larger — usually the male, though there are well-known reversals.

Also in these lists

Similar species

Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.

Sold in Lithuania

These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.

These links are unpaid: we get nothing for them and ask for nothing.

Frequently asked questions

What tank size does a Kendall's Lamprologus need?

A Kendall's Lamprologus needs an aquarium of at least 300 litres (79.3 US gallons) with a footprint at least 150 cm (59.1 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.

What water parameters does a Kendall's Lamprologus need?

Kendall's Lamprologus does best at 23–27 °C (73.4–80.6 °F), pH 7.5–9 and a general hardness of 8–20 °dGH.

Is the Kendall's Lamprologus suitable for beginners?

Kendall's Lamprologus sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.

Sources

• FishBase — Lepidiolamprologus kendalli (Poll & Stewart, 1977)
• Wikipedia — Lepidiolamprologus kendalli
• Practical Fishkeeping — Lepidiolamprologus nkambae
• Seriously Fish (news) — Predatory cichlid from Lake Tanganyika described
• AquaInfo — Lepidiolamprologus kendalli
• FishBase — Neolamprologus nigriventris Büscher, 1992 (the fish this one is NOT)