[2] Acapoeta tanganicae is endemic to Lake Tanganyika and the Rusizi River and occurs in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia.

It was considered that the most parsimonious explanation for its presence was that its low abundance meant it had been previously overlooked as a member of the Lake Rukwa ichthyofauna rather than deliberate introduction.

[3] Its natural habitats are rivers, freshwater lakes, and inland deltas over rock substrates.

[1] It feeds on aufwuchs as well as a variety of food collected from rocky river or lake beds including insects, ostracods, diatoms and worms.

Overfishing may also be a threat, although the species is still common and can be present in large shoals, and there is no data to support a decline in the stock.