Five-bar cichlid
Neolamprologus tretocephalus
moderateaggressivebottom swimmerCichlidae
- Adult size
- 12 cm5 in
- Start with
- 1
- Tank length
- 120 cmabout 4 ft (47 in)
- Lifespan
- 8–12 yrs
- Temperature
- 23–27 °C73–81 °F
- pH
- 7.6–9
- Hardness
- 10–30 dGH
- Diet
- carnivore
Eats snails and small invertebrates and is very aggressive toward similar barred cichlids; keep one pair in a large rock tank.Eats snails and small invertebrates and is very aggressive toward similar barred cichlids; keep one pair in a large rock tank.
Tank sizes
Good tankmates
Avoid with
- Banded gourami
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Bandit cory
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Black kuhli loach
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
Black neon tetraNo shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Black phantom tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blackline rasbora
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Bleeding heart tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blind cave tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Bloodfin tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blue acara
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blue emperor tetra
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
- Blue lyretail
No shared pH rangeNo shared pH range
Sources
| temperature | 23–27 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04; agrees with FishBase (fishbase.se), retrieved 2026-10-04 · medium |
|---|---|---|
| ph | 7.6–9 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04 · low |
| gh | 10–30 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04 · low |
| origin | Lake Tanganyika (rocky shores) | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| notes | Eats snails and small invertebrates and is very aggressive toward similar barred | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| beginner friendly | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| care level | moderate | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| color palette | #D8D8E0, #1A1A2A | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| activity | moderate | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| swim zone | bottom | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| temperament | aggressive | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| fin nipper | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| long finned | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| territorial | true | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| schooling | false | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| schooling min | 1 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| diet | carnivore | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| lifespan years | 8–12 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| growth to adult months | 18 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| length weight | {"a":0.018,"b":3} | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low |
| planted safe | true | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| min tank length | 120 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |
| body shape | cichlid | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium |