Turquoise jewels

[ryansmith83]

I'm sure there are lots of posts about them here on the forum if you search. Jewels have long been a staple in the hobby so info is probably fairly easy to come by. I'm guessing the turquoise form is a variant of Hemichromis bimaculatus, but H. lifalili is also pretty popular due to the bright red color. Here are a couple links with general info:

Hemichromis bimaculatus (Jewel Cichlid) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Hemichromis lifalili (Blood-Red Jewel Cichlid) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Fishenvy]

Thanks for the kind words. What do you want to know about them?

Have any jewel cross breeding stories? Seen any crazy morphs?

 

[tiger15]

Most African Cichlids are from the lakes of Africa. Jewel Cichlid are a riverine specie.

I’m keeping one species of jewel fish that is from East Africa rift lake, Lake Turkana.

Lake Turkana Jewel Cichlid

Has anyone kept this jewel cichlid? This is not a riverine Hemichromis species from west Africa, but a rift Lake species from Lake Turkana in east Africa. I saw them for sale in my lfs and it has striking color resembling Mbuna. Lake Turkana is an alkaline / brackish Lake, so I would like...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[tlindsey]

I’m keeping one species of jewel fish that is from East Africa rift lake, Lake Turkana.

Lake Turkana Jewel Cichlid

Has anyone kept this jewel cichlid? This is not a riverine Hemichromis species from west Africa, but a rift Lake species from Lake Turkana in east Africa. I saw them for sale in my lfs and it has striking color resembling Mbuna. Lake Turkana is an alkaline / brackish Lake, so I would like...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Wow never heard of them until now. Lake Turkana is full of surprises. Thanks for sharing!

 

[tlindsey]

Wow never heard of them until now. Lake Turkana is full of surprises. Thanks for sharing!

I did reply to that thread with a Wow forgot about that specie of Jewel Cichlid. Sorry I do apologize.

 

[neutrino]

Jewels will gladly shred similarly-sized New World cichlids. My local LFS always puts jewels in with things like young firemouths and Jack Dempseys, and the firemouths and JDs always end up finless and beaten. I don't know why they insist on doing that.

Yes, and sometimes cichlids much larger than themselves. It can happen suddenly, without warning (you thought they were okay together) and within just a few moments. I never specialized in them, so there's probably an optimal tank and tankmates for them, but otherwise they're unpredictable ime.

 

[Fishenvy]

Yes, and sometimes cichlids much larger than themselves. It can happen suddenly, without warning (you thought they were okay together) and within just a few moments.

When they are nesting oh yea they are ferocious. These 2 are literally less than 2". I'll keep a close eye on them.

 

[tiger15]

It’s always fun to watch Jewel cichlid parenting fry. Jewel cichlid look like American cichlid with the central dot ubiquitous of most SA/CA, and gill spot (Thorichthys), indicating they have common ancestor. Jewel cichlid are recommenced as first cichlid for new hobbyist, and for me, it’s the first cichlid I had successfully bred. For seasoned hobbyists, Jewel cichlid have fallen out of favor because they are too common and cheap. I only recently got back to Jewel cichlid due to discovery of a new, unusual species from Lake Turkana. A pair of mine, under 2 inch, had already bred once, but the fry did not make it. Hopefully it will work out next time.

 

[Fishenvy]

It’s always fun to watch Jewel cichlid parenting fry. Jewel cichlid look like American cichlid with the central dot ubiquitous of most SA/CA, and gill spot (Thorichthys), indicating they have common ancestor. Jewel cichlid are recommenced as first cichlid for new hobbyist, and for me, it’s the first cichlid I had successfully bred. For seasoned hobbyists, Jewel cichlid have fallen out of favor because they are too common and cheap. I only recently got back to Jewel cichlid due to discovery of a new, unusual species from Lake Turkana. A pair of mine, under 2 inch, had already bred once, but the fry did not make it. Hopefully it will work out next time.

This pair has bred for me a few times but never got to the fry in time. The store I purchased them from was selling some of their babies, so I assume they are able to fully propagate.

I'd love to see some pictures. I love jewels as much as I do any other cichlid of hybrid.

 

[duanes]

There are at least 15 different species of Hemichromis (jewel cichlids)
At least 3 species can be quite blue. H cerogastor, stellifer, and H sp Guinea 1 all have very blue hued morphs.
If you join the American Cichlid Assn, with it.... comes a membership to the Cichlid Room Companion, which has a listing and info on all the species of jewels, along with just about any cichlid known.