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Enantiopus sp. "kilesa"

No scientific description. The Enantiopus genera is sometimes accounted as part of Xenotilapia

The closely related E. melanogenys can, for all aquaristic purposes, be considered as identical, except that it grows larger, and consequently need a bigger tank (at least 150 cm. long).

Pair. Female on top, male below

More images HERE
Distribution and variants: Endemic to Lake Tanganyika, between Kalemie and Kavalla.
Size: Male: 12-14 cm Female: 10-12 cm
Sex differences: Adult males always has yellow colouration around the mouth. This is never seen on the female. Otherwise, see photo above.
Natural diet: Various invertebrates and vegetable matter, sifted from the sand, through the mouth and gills.
Biotopes and general behavior: Outside the breeding season, the fish is schooling over the sandy bottom, at up to 30 meters depth. During this time, the males are almost indistinguishable from the females, except yellow around their mouths. In the breeding season, fertile individuals come in to the lower waters of sandy beaches, where they form large colonies of breeding nests.
Breeding behavior: Maternal mouth brooder. The male builds a nest, 6-8 inches in diameter, marked by a number of small heaps of sand, arranged roughly around the edges. He then tries to lure any female in the vicinity to this nest, with an extremely energetic display of raised fins and gill cover. The nests are gathered in dense colonies, and the females roam in schools in the water immediately above them, until they are ready for spawn, and select a suitable partner. The breeding is very typical for mouth brooders. The female is brooding for about 3 weeks, after which the fry is released and the parenting stops. The fry gathers in large schools, where they stay until the reach maturity. A typical number in a batch of fry is around 30.

Displaying male
Temperatures and water: 24-27 deg. C. PH: 7-8 DH: 12-30
Feeding: Dry food with mixed content, frozen cyclops, artemia and mysis. Shrimp mix is a fine additive, adding to the intensity of colours.
Tank size: 325L/130cm.
Best kept as: A small group, consisting of as many males as the tank allows, and about twice as many females. Each male require a territory of app. 50x50 cm with spare area of just about the same for the group of females.
Aquarium behavior: Kilesa spends most of their time on, or immediately above the substrate, where they are busily occupied, displaying their typical  feeding behavior, which is sand sifting. A mouthful of sand is scooped up into the mouth, thoroughly chewed through, and sifted out through mouth and gills, leaving edible material behind. This is done at an impressive pace, which is only interrupted when a male spots a fertile female and immediately starts circling around Her with raised fins and gill cover, demonstrating their strength with powerful strokes from the tail fin. Direct physical encounters are very rare, but they are extremely eager in their territorial defense.
Decoration The tank, which is ideally not less than 150 cm. in length, is decorated with as much open sand area as possible. The substrate should be fine sand, in a layer of at least 2 inches. Any decoration other than sand, should be limited to a flat background, unless other considerations (e.g. other fish or an internal filter) interfere with this. Artificial rock modules mounted on the back or sides is a good option. Water movement should be fairly high ( 4-5 times the tank volume /hour).
Suggested tankmates: Kilesa`s are easily intimidated, and rarely resist, when bullied by other tank mates, so it is very important that all tankmates are absolutely peaceful, and preferably occupy the top half of the tank. Paracyprichromis nigripinnis is the species I have the best experiences with, especially if there are overhanging modules as decoration, but also calm substrate breeders like Altolamprologus calvus or A. compressiceps are also good candidates, whereas the Cyprichromis species often are too boisterous, especially in smaller tanks. If an attempt of trying out a Cyprichromis is made anyway, it is important that it should be one of the smaller variants, and not the large and more aggressive C. sp. "leptosoma jumbo", and the tank should not be lower than 60 cm of height.
Breeding: Maternal mouth brooder. The male builds a nest, 6-8 inches in diameter, marked by a number of small heaps of sand, arranged roughly around the edges. He then tries to lure any female in the vicinity to this nest, with an extremely energetic display of raised fins and gill cover. The nests are gathered in dense colonies, and the females roam in schools in the water immediately above them, until they are ready for spawn, and select a suitable partner. The breeding is very typical for mouthbrooders. The female is brooding for about 3 weeks, after which the fry is released and the parenting stops. The fry gathers in large schools, where they stay until the reach maturity. A typical number in a batch of fry is around 30.

Juveniles
Extra information There are ongoing stories about how easily the Enantiopus species panic and kill themselves by hitting the lamp or glass, if the light is suddenly switched on or off. Personally I have never seen anything remotely like that, and I do not take it into consideration in any way.

 Enantiopus spp. has a fairly short lifespan. Ad Konings estimates max. 3 years, so it is a good idea to prioritize breeding fairly quickly, especially from wild caught specimens, if  they are meant to be a permanent part of the stock. The juveniles grow fast, and start showing good colour after just about 6 months. Do not be surprized to find, that the males, especially WC are not always displaying their full colour. If there are no fertile females around, they tend to tone down, as they do in the wild outside the breeding season.
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