This article is about the largest Altolamprologus species A.
Compressiceps. Most info in this article applies to A. Calvus also. This article
will also discuss the more popular becoming Altolamprologus Compressiceps ‘Sumbu
Shell’ a dwarf shell dwelling variant of A. Compressiceps.
Telling the species apart
A.Calvus and A. Compressiceps may look alike at first glance but they can be
told apart by a few different traits. The ever growing in popularity shell
dwelling variation of A. Compressiceps , A. Compressiceps “Sumbu Shell” will be
included in this section.
1: A. Compressiceps has a much more Blunt upturned mouth and also has a more
rounded fore head. Basically A. Compressiceps has more curvey head features
while Calvus is more straight lined head features.
2: A. Compressiceps has much more bold, pronounced stripes and less distinct
spots while A. Calvus is the opposite with more bold spots and less distincted
stripes (most variants)
3: Finally is the size and build. A. Compressiceps can grow to 6”-7” while
Calvus only 5”-5.5”. A. Compressiceps has a thicker body from side to side than
A. Calvus. And also A. Compressiceps has a deeper taller body while A. Calvus is
more streamlined in comparison.
Finally the promised A. Compressiceps “Sumbu Shell”. Every is the same about A.
Compressiceps above except for it comes in a 3.5” (Male) 1.75”-2” (female) shell
accessible package.
4: “Sumbu shell” also possesses yellow/orange pectoral fins
5: Dominant males can be almost jet black.
Photo:-Malawi Cichlid Home Page
General
Altolamps make great candidates for the Tanganyikan community aquarium. They
do not harass fish much, and are not overly aggressive but will not allow fish
to bully them either. They have tough sharp scales on their flanks. They bend
facing their opponent exposing the sharp tough flanks to the attacker. The
attacker eventually sees his attempts are futile and gives up.
They need this protection cause they cannot compete in jaw locking
competitions with other cichlids. There jaws are sensitive and can be dislocated
easily if put through punishment. It is some what common for them to displace
their jaw when banged or abused in anyway. Although this seems more common with
A. Compressiceps congener, A. Calvus
Altolamps. are very efficient fry eaters. They specialize in this in the wild
and will do the same in the aquarium. As said before their body can take a lot
of punishment and they can raid some fish’s territory and eat the fry while
taking the abuse from the parents with their very tough flanks.
A. Compressiceps are very slow growing fish. Even fry are extremely slow
growing. They can reach a total length of 7” for males and 5”-6”.
Photo:-Malawi Cichlid Home Page
A.Compressiceps ‘Sumbu Shell’ is more peaceful than its larger conspecifics. It
is a natural shell dweller unlike the larger Altolamprologus which are what we
call opportunistic shell dwellers. ‘Sumbu Shell’ in nature breeds in shells and
only stays about 2”. In the wild they stay well within the Dwarf cichlid
parameters but in captivity it has been reported that they can grow well over
dwarf cichlid size. There have been reports of them growing close to regular A.
Compressiceps size. It seems most of the info I hear from people who have kept
them that 3.5” for males and smaller females is the average in captivity.
