Other names for this fish include Super Red Top Kimpuma however, this fish pales by comparison to the L. hongi and was most likely collected from the other locations. Of notable difference is the lack of well define vertical stripes and the lack of a golden-orange headdress, clearly visible on L. hongi. (Shown upper) In addition, during intense displaying, (Shown middle and lower) the base color of the body will fade from a solid purple hue to whitish lavender, which makes a very bold statement to other males. Females remain a dirty solid purple with a dirty yellow dorsal fin.
A young trio of one male and two females were placed into a 75 gallon mixed Malawi mbuna tank with plenty of rockwork. The male appeared to be extremely territorial and will not allow another male of any striped species into his area. Later when an additional wild adult show male was added. An intense battle soon ensued with the victor being the larger wild show male. The defeated male immediately cowered in the far end of the tank and morphed into a drab looking female. There have been no other conflicts since then.
Even fighting amongst juveniles seem rare with only one dominant male showing his colors at all times, with the remaining males camouflaged as females. On occasion, a fight will ensue, which attracts other males into the battle, (Shown middle and bottom). It is not clear whether the original dominant male remained the king after the battle, but there was again, clearly only one dominant male.
