2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Aggressive within the group; needs a large colony to keep aggression spread out.
67 species in our list are a good match.
Aggressive within the group; needs a large colony to keep aggression spread out.
Spirulina flake and vegetable-based foods; avoid meaty foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Hard to sex: the genital papilla is pointed in males and rounded in females. Juveniles are black with white or light-blue spots; adults turn blue-black with a yellow or white vertical bar.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Maternal mouthbrooder (colony) · Hard
Maternal mouthbrooder; the female carries a small brood for over 4 weeks before releasing free-swimming fry.
Keep a group of 15 to 20 of one colour variant so aggression spreads out. Adults live alone in the wild, not as a shoal.
300+ L rockwork tank with caves, hard alkaline water (pH 8-9), moderate flow and very clean water; do not mix variants or other species.
Stable water, large weekly water changes, a vegetable-based diet and a large colony; females hold when they feel secure.
5-15 eggs per brood, held for over 4 weeks.
The female releases 5-12 large fry after about 4 weeks. Feed crushed spirulina flake and newly hatched brine shrimp; remove the female to a quiet tank if she is harassed.
Juveniles are jet black with white or light-blue spots and look nothing like the adults, which become blue-black with a yellow or white bar. A rock-dwelling algae grazer from northern Lake Tanganyika, listed as Endangered by the IUCN (2025).
Belgian biologist Georges Marlier described this Tropheus in 1959. Its spotted juveniles are among the most charming of all cichlid young. Adults change to a dark body with a pale band.
First described by Georges Marlier in 1959.
15 facts checked with sources
Valid name, Tropheus duboisi Marlier, 1959.
FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summaryLegacy has no family field; sourced value recorded.
FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summaryFishBase 12 cm TL (total length); Seriously Fish gives 120 mm SL. Legacy 12 cm agrees.
FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summary · Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisiLegacy range lies inside Seriously Fish 23-27 °C.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisi · FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summaryLegacy 8-9 lies inside Seriously Fish (preferred); FishBase gives 8.5-9.0.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisi · FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summaryLegacy has no hardness; Seriously Fish value recorded (FishBase 10-12).
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisi · FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summarySeriously Fish: 60 x 18 x 18 in (152 x 46 x 46 cm) for a group = 321,600 cm³ = ~322 L; a single fish needs 120 x 30 x 30 cm (110 L). Legacy 300 L is slightly below.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisiLegacy 12; Seriously Fish advises 15-20 to reduce territorial behaviour.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisiLegacy "a" (aggressive). Aggression is mainly toward its own kind; keep as a large single-species colony.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisiNo source names an aquarium swimming level; FishBase says demersal rock-dweller.
FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summaryLegacy has no native range. Seriously Fish adds it lives in deeper water than its congeners.
FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summaryLegacy agrees in substance.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisiLegacy said 5-12 eggs, about 4 weeks.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisiLegacy text verified; adult bar can be white as well as yellow. IUCN Endangered (B2ab(iii)) assessed 3 Mar 2025. Seriously Fish: several geographical morphs exist and should not be mixed; vegetable matter should form the basis of the diet.
Seriously Fish: Tropheus duboisi · FishBase: Tropheus duboisi summary