Photo: Jonathan (Jon) Armbruster, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Jewel cichlid
Hemichromis bimaculatus
15 cm
Adult size
140 L
Minimum volume
2
Minimum group
12 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Hemichromis
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- pair
In the wild
Overview
Considered the true “jewel cichlid” of hobbyists, and now placed in the genus Rubricatochromis, it is also used as a study animal by physiologists and ethologists. It has three black spots on its flanks, one of them on the caudal peduncle, against two in H. lifalili, which has become more popular.
- Scientific name
- Rubricatochromis bimaculatus (Gill, 1862)Current valid name; in the hobby: Hemichromis bimaculatus
- Classification
- Cichliformes › Cichlidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
West Africa: from Guinea to central Liberia (including Sierra Leone)
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives in small streams and canals over mud or sand, under overhanging and floating vegetation, inland, in intact or recently disturbed forest.
Behaviour
Despite common practice, it suits neither beginners nor community tanks: territorial, it becomes extremely aggressive when breeding. It lives with large Alestidae (Congo tetras), Synodontis, Loricariidae and, in a large tank, other African cichlids such as Steatocranus. Keep it in a pair, ideally formed within a group of juveniles. It eats almost anything, with live prey and plant matter.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth