Rod Enantiopus

Genus Enantiopus - Males grow up to 15 cm of length, females are about 20 – 30 % shorter. It is ideal to breed them in tanks which are about 150 cm long ( or longer ) because they are fish of a sandy shallow zone, where there are no shelters. In case of danger they try to save their lives by zipping away as fast and far as possible. Their genuine hydrodynamic shape suggests they are able to reach very high speeds when needed. That is why I recommend, if possible, to breed these fish in tanks which are accessible from the front. They can see us from a longer distance. We should approach the tank from the front to avoid the shock fish would suffer if we came from the side. It is, of course, necessary, to cover the tank to avoid finding an increasing number of dry dead fish around the tank.

It is also advisable to have more than one male in a breeding group. When impressing females, they will parade their colourful beauty. The inner species aggressiveness is not so dramatic in this species, so a dominant male does not kill its competitors, which is something we are familiar with, for instance, in genera Tropheus, Neolamprologus etc., unless we provide them with not enough space. There are dozens of offspring from every spawn. I have experienced even spawns with 70 – 80 fish but the usual number varies from 20 to 50 fish. I recommend to keep the quality of water at a very high standard, which is, by the way, a rule that should be followed by all sand cichlids from the lake.