From the Inside Flap
The cichlids of Lake Tanganyika are in many ways exceptional fish and they have been favourites of aquarists for many years. The key to keeping them successfully is an in-depth knowledge of the conditions of their natural habitat, and their patterns of behaviour and breeding. With this book, all this key knowledge is put in your hands.
Excerpted from Tanganyika Cichlids (Aquaguide S.) by Peter Bredell. Copyright © 2001. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The cichlids of Lake Tanganyika are in many respects unique fish, and they have long enjoyed great popularity among aquarists. Even within the fascinating cichlid family they enjoy special status, and there is probably no other aspect of the world of aquariums that has spawned so much specialization. For example, there are enthusiasts who concentrate solely on the so-called sand cichlids, featherfins, shell dwellers, sardine cichlids or perhaps on the hugely varied Tropheus genus. Among these specialists a healthy exchange of thoughts, ideas and, most important of all, of breeding fish has grown up. As a consequence of this development, which has proved to be more than just a passing fad, various ornamental fish catchers and exporters have set up residence on the shores of the lake and sell the much sougt-after cichlids (some of them wild-caught, others bred on fish farms) to enthusiasts all round the world, whose craving for new varieties seems boundless. Not all Lake Tanganyika cichlids can be described as economical to buy, and for a variety of reasons many of the species are among the most expensive of all freshwater fish. Furthermore, not all Lake Tanganyika cichlids are suitable for beginners.