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A beautiful peaceful Cichlid. The Brichardi was one of first available cichlids from lake Tanganyika. Fairly easy to keep and breed, they must be kept in a Tanganyikan set up.

Quick stats: Listed tank sizes are the minimum Size: Up to 4" (10 cm) Tank: 36 inches Strata: Bottom-middle PH: 7.5-9.0 Hardness: Hard and alkaline. dH range: 8.0-20.0º Temperature: 72-77ºF (23-25°C) Classification: Order: Perciformes Suborder: Percoidei Family: Cichlidae Genera: Neolamprologus Species: brichardi

Common name:

Fairy Cichlid Brichardi, Lyretail Cichlid

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Distribution

Africa, Lake Tanganyika

Not the typical cichlid in appearance, the Brichardi is a sleek and elongated fish with the most notable characteristic being its' lyretail.

A beautiful fish, the base color is tan, with small yellow scales near the start of the tail fin. The tail, dorsal and anal fins are the same as the base color and they are fringed with a blue / white edge, extending along the elongated tips of the tail fin, which really highlight the lyretail. A dark bar runs from the eye, back to the gill cover. A bright gold spot is located just above this bar.

Like all true Tanganyikan set ups the tank should be decorated with a crushed coral or similar substrate and contain lot of rocks that form caves and crevices. This is especially true for the brichardi as a retreat for each fish is a must. The rocks must be firmly anchored as these fish will dig a lot and can disrupt the aquascape and possibly hurt themselves or the aquarium. Provide open areas for swimming. Plants can be used and will not be eaten but should be placed carefully as their digging will continually uproot them. Peaceful for a cichlid they should be kept in groups as they will school outside of breeding time. Feeding is not a problem as they will accept all types of flake and frozen food, in nature they eat small animals. Good filtration is a must and frequent partial water changes are a necessity as well.

Caves along the rocky bottom, near the shoreline

Breeding:

One of the easier Lake Tanganyika cichlids to breed the brichardi is monogamous, meaning that they pair off for life. They are cave spawners and will produce around 100 fry per spawn. Excellent parents they will tend to their young for months and will take care of several spawns at the same time. If the tank becomes overcrowded with fry the parents recognize this and won't lay so many eggs on the next spawn or rarely they will eat their young to make room for the next batch. They fry are small and grow slowly but will do well if fed baby brine shrimp and finely crushed flake food.

Albino Brichardi Click photo to buy

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From: Yvonne Date:6/13/2008 I purchased 6 Brichardi, two paired off and have been breeding NONSTOP since about Feb. 2008. I think I have at least 5 generations in my community African tank of 72 gallons. I do have many hiding places. The entire back of the tank has fake roots and fake multilevel wood pieces and areas of fake and live plants throughout the tank. I truly believe that each fish can have a totally different personality than another of it's own kind, just like us! ;) I rarely have issues with my Brichardi fighting with other fish and they are peaceful towards other tank mates along with their own kind. I've had a similar experience with a firemouth cichlid, which are notorious for being aggressive. My firemouth actually joined the fish that were hiding in the back of the 38 gallon tank instead of assisting their movement about the tank ...Otherwise known as "swimming". Maybe I've just been blessed in getting docile fish. I'm not a hard-core fish keeper where I monitor the water chemistry. In fact, I rarely do that. I just enjoy my fish, clean and do water changes when I can. Works for me! I wish you well. From: Sheila Date:11/15/2007 I have had these fish for 2 yrs, they are excellent parents and are easy to keep, but only with their own kind!!! I tried putting them with other Tanganyika cichlids and they were way to aggressive. And I even put them in with my mbuna cichlids and they even took over that tank and terrorized them, so I would suggest to anyone who keeps these fish to only put them in a tank with their own kind. From: Steve Huffman Date:10/31/2004 The Brichardi is a notorious jumper. If your tank is not covered, you will inevitably find dead fish on the floor around it. From: Jessica Date:1/12/2004 Please note, that while these are peaceful fish among their own kind and when kept singly; if you have a breeding pair or group they will kill or terrorize the other tankmates. A breeding pair will consume the entire tank in a 75 gallon or smaller.

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