Xenotilapia Flavipinnis

Xenotilapia flavipinnis comes from the sandy shallows of Lake Tanganyika, one of Africa's oldest and most chemically stable rift lakes. They're a slender, torpedo-shaped cichlid with a pale silvery body offset by subtle yellow coloring on the dorsal and pelvic fins, giving them a delicate elegance that photographs beautifully over white sand. They rarely grow past 9 cm, so they're on the smaller end for Tanganyikan cichlids.

In the wild, these fish spend almost every waking moment sifting sand through their gills, extracting tiny invertebrates and organic matter. Captive specimens do the same, so a deep bed of fine-grained sand is genuinely essential, not optional. Crushed coral or aragonite sand works well and doubles as a buffer to maintain the high pH they need. Water chemistry should stay firmly alkaline, ideally pH 8.0 to 9.0 with good hardness.

They're peaceful with other species and spend most of their time in loose, coordinated groups across the tank bottom. Feeding is straightforward with high-quality sinking pellets, frozen cyclops, daphnia, and brine shrimp. Avoid large meaty foods like bloodworm as a staple since this genus can be prone to digestive issues on a protein-heavy diet.

Keeping a large enough group is where most people go wrong. Eight individuals is a realistic minimum for stable social behavior and successful breeding. Below that threshold you'll see chronic stress and the group dynamic falls apart. Shimmerscape has builds from hobbyists who've dialed in Tanganyikan sand communities around this species, so browsing those is a good way to see what a working setup actually looks like.