Blue Jewel Cichlid (Lifalili-Type)

What you are buying: a blue-labelled lifalili-type jewel cichlid

This listing is for a single jewel cichlid, offered in three dispatch sizes: 4-5 cm, 5-7 cm and XL. Those figures describe the fish as it leaves us. They are not adult sizes, and a 4-5 cm youngster still has a good deal of growing to do. Our stock records name it as a blue lifalili under the old genus Hemichromis, which is the name most keepers still know. FishBase now lists the species as Rubricatochromis lifalili (Loiselle, 1979), following a 2022 revision by Lamboj and Koblmüller that moved the true jewel cichlids into a genus of their own and left the five-spot cichlids, such as Hemichromis fasciatus and H. elongatus, under the older name.

The title says lifalili-type, and it is worth explaining why. No scientific description recognises a blue form of lifalili. The wild species is red, with rows of small blue spots across the body, head and fins. On top of that, Wikipedia's account of the genus records frequent misidentification, hybridisation between species and selective breeding among jewel cichlids kept in aquariums. "Blue" is a trade colour name rather than a scientific one, so we class this fish as Rubricatochromis sp. and base the care on the published data for R. lifalili, the species named on the label. We would rather be straight with you about that than print a tidy binomial we cannot back up.

What that means in practice:

• Sold individually. Each unit is one fish at the size you pick.
• Sex is not selected. Seriously Fish describes the species as difficult to sex, so two fish bought together are simply two fish. They may pair up, or they may not.
• Colour varies. Seriously Fish notes that live foods bring out the colour, and Wikipedia records that breeding fish turn red over almost the whole body. Judge a fish once it has settled in your tank, not in the bag on the doorstep.
• XL is the largest dispatch grade we offer for this fish. If you need a measured length before choosing it, ask us first.

Which dispatch size to choose

All three sizes need the same finished aquarium, because every one of them is heading for an adult of up to about 10 cm. The choice is really about how far along you want the fish to be when it arrives.

• 4-5 cm is the youngest grade. You see it grow, and you have time to judge how it settles before you add companions.
• 5-7 cm is further along, a middle option between the two.
• XL is for keepers who want a larger fish from the start, for example to hold its own in a tank of robust companions.

If you are buying two fish in the hope of a pair, choose the same size for both, so that neither starts out much bigger than the other.

If you came looking for a jewel cichlid because you want a fish with real presence in a medium-sized aquarium, this is a sensible choice. If you want something calm to sit among small tetras and cherry shrimp, it is not, and the sections on temperament and tank mates explain why in plain terms.

How to recognise it and tell it apart from other jewel cichlids

Jewel cichlids look alike at a glance, and Wikipedia records plenty of misidentification in the hobby. The published descriptions do give a handful of features you can check once your fish has settled.

The two comparisons that matter most are with its close relatives. The red jewel cichlid, R. bimaculatus, carries three dark spots, the last of them at the base of the tail, where lifalili has only two flank spots and a clean tail base. If you want to see that species side by side, our Red Jewel Cichlid (Rubricatochromis bimaculatus) page covers it. The other lookalike is the red form of guttatus. Seriously Fish separates the two by the dark mark in the middle of the flank: round and above the lateral line in lifalili, oval and running down below the lateral line in guttatus.

Telling males from females is harder, and the sources do not quite agree. Wikipedia says that outside spawning the females are leaner and show a brighter red, while the males are stockier with a more massive head. Seriously Fish puts it the other way round on colour, saying males are slightly more colourful when not in breeding dress, and calls the species difficult to sex overall. The safest reading is that build, and head shape in particular, is a better clue than colour. With young fish at dispatch size we make no attempt to pick sexes.

Where does the blue come in? In the species as described, the blue lives in those rows of small spots. We cannot tell you what the colour name on this line was coined for, because no description of a blue lifalili has been published. The features in the table are the honest test: if you want to know how close your fish sits to the wild species, those are the marks to look at.

On size, FishBase gives a maximum of 8.2 cm standard length, Seriously Fish gives 10 cm standard length and Wikipedia quotes 8.2-10 cm. Standard length runs from the snout to the base of the tail fin, so a fish measured tail and all will be longer. We plan tank space around the 10 cm figure. Treat it as a ceiling rather than a promise.

Where lifalili lives in the wild

FishBase places R. lifalili in the Congo River basin, in the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, apart from the Shaba (Katanga) and Kasai regions, roughly between 5°N and 4°S. Seriously Fish calls it endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Wikipedia describes it from the lower and central Congo basin. The sources draw the borders a little differently, but every one of them puts the fish in the Congo system.

The habitat notes are more useful to a fishkeeper than the map. FishBase says it lives mainly in forested habitats, but also turns up in more open, savannah-like country where gallery forest lines the rivers. Seriously Fish describes still and slow-moving creeks and tributaries that are usually rich in oxygen despite their sluggish flow. Wikipedia adds that the fish prefers rocky, warm watercourses of about 22-24°C, and that it is missing from oxygen-depleted waters, rapids and swampy ground.

Put those three accounts together and you get a clear picture: a fish of shaded, rocky, slow streams with clean, well-oxygenated water. It is not a swamp fish that copes with stale water, and it is not a rapids fish that wants a torrent. That tells you most of what you need to know about setting up for it:

• steady filtration and good surface movement for oxygen, without blasting the fish around the tank;
• plenty of rock to claim and hide behind;
• some shade from wood, floating cover or taller plants;
• clean water kept that way by routine maintenance rather than rescue treatments.

FishBase classes it as a freshwater, benthopelagic fish, which means it lives near the bottom as well as in open water. In the aquarium you will mostly see it in the lower and middle layers. Its wild diet, covered in the feeding section, fits the same picture: worms, insects, crustaceans and small fish, with some plant matter.

On conservation, FishBase gives the IUCN Red List status as Least Concern, assessed on 16 February 2009. Wikipedia also notes that the species is widely bred in aquariums.

Tank size and layout for one fish or a pair

Seriously Fish gives a minimum base of 75 × 30 cm, about 68 litres, for this species. We set the bar a little higher at 80 litres for one fish or a pair, because the extra floor space buys room for two territories and an escape route between them. If you want to add other robust fish, go bigger again. A long, low tank suits a fish that holds territory near the bottom far better than a tall one of the same volume: it defends ground, not height.

The same source asks for a roomy aquarium with as many hiding places as possible, and suggests clay flower pots, rockwork, driftwood and areas of dense planting. That list is the heart of a good jewel cichlid layout. Every fish should be able to claim a spot of its own and get out of sight of the others within a body length or two. In an open, bare tank there is nowhere to retreat, and squabbles are more likely to end in injuries.

A layout that works

• A cave at each end. A clay pot laid on its side, or a stable rock arch, gives each fish a base.
• A flat stone in a clear patch. Seriously Fish notes that the species spawns on flat rocks, so a pair will often adopt one as their own.
• Something in the middle to break the line of sight. A piece of wood or a clump of tall, tough plants stops one fish watching the other all day.
• An open lane along the front. You want to be able to see the fish, and it wants room to patrol.

Seriously Fish also warns that the species digs, so plants need strong roots or should be grown in pots. Rooting plants in a small pot buried in the substrate, or tying epiphytes to wood, saves you replanting after every rearrangement. Fine sand or smooth, rounded gravel is the kindest substrate for a fish that moves it about with its mouth. Bed rockwork down on the tank floor rather than on top of the sand, so that digging cannot undermine it.

The same profile says the water must be well oxygenated. Size the filter for the tank, set the outlet to ripple the surface, and avoid strong currents that a slow-stream fish would never meet in the wild. Before any fish goes in, the filter must be mature: OATA's care sheet for dwarf cichlids gives zero ammonia and zero nitrite as the standard, and only a cycled filter will hold those numbers once a hungry cichlid is being fed every day.

Lighting is a matter of taste, but this is a fish of shaded forest streams, so give it some shade from wood and floating plants rather than a bright, bare tank.

Water temperature, pH and hardness

Jewel cichlids are not fussy about water within reason, but they do need it clean and stable. These are the figures we use, with the sources beside them so you can see where each number comes from.

If you like to aim for the middle ground that every source agrees on, that sits at about 23-24°C, pH 6.5-7.5 and 4-12 dGH. You do not have to chase it. A jewel cichlid kept steadily at 25°C and pH 7.2 is far better off than one whose water is being nudged up and down every week with chemicals in pursuit of a perfect reading.

The temperature figures need a word of explanation. The 22-24°C quoted by FishBase and Wikipedia describes the wild streams. Seriously Fish's 23-26°C is an aquarium range, and that is the one we use. Wikipedia's breeding notes mention eggs hatching at 25.5°C, comfortably inside it. A reliable heater with a thermostat, sized for the tank, is all you need. Check it with a separate thermometer rather than trusting the dial.

For upkeep, OATA's guidance is simple and worth following to the letter:

• test the water at least once a week;
• change about 25% of the water every week, siphoning waste from the substrate as you go;
• rinse filter media in the tank water you have just removed, never under the tap, so the bacteria that clear ammonia survive.

A cichlid on meaty foods produces plenty of waste, and nitrate can creep up faster than you expect. The weekly change is what keeps it in check. Treat new tap water with a dechlorinator and bring it to roughly tank temperature before it goes in.

If your tap water sits well outside these ranges, for example very hard and alkaline, tell us before you order and we will talk it through with you. It is much easier to plan around your water than to fight it after the fish has arrived.

Feeding a mostly carnivorous cichlid

In the wild, Wikipedia records that lifalili feeds mainly on worms, crustaceans, insects and small fish, but also takes vegetable matter. Seriously Fish sums it up as primarily carnivorous but willing to accept virtually anything offered, and recommends including some vegetable matter in the diet. In other words, a meaty menu with a green side.

A good weekly routine looks something like this:

• Staple: a quality cichlid pellet or granule, sized so the fish can swallow it whole. For a 4-5 cm fish that means small granules or crumbled pellets; move up a size as it grows.
• Frozen foods, several times a week: bloodworm, brine shrimp, mysis and daphnia all match the worms and small crustaceans of its natural diet.
• Live foods as a treat: Seriously Fish notes that live foods bring out the colour. Buy them from a reputable aquatic source rather than collecting from ponds.
• Vegetable content: a spirulina-based flake or pellet a couple of times a week covers the plant part of the diet.

How much? OATA's dwarf cichlid care sheet says to give only what the fish will eat within a few minutes, once a day. With a fish that, in Seriously Fish's words, accepts virtually anything offered, overfeeding is the usual mistake. Anything still lying on the sand after a few minutes is too much, and it will rot and push up ammonia and nitrate.

Feeding is also where tank politics show. A dominant fish will try to take the lot, and in a pair you may see the larger fish chase its partner off the food. Spread the food across the surface, or drop some at each end of the tank, so a lower-ranking fish gets its share without having to cross its rival's ground. Watch every fish eat at least once a day. A jewel cichlid that stops coming to food has either been bullied off it or is unwell, and both need your attention quickly.

Do not rely on one food alone, however good the label sounds. The wild diet ranges across worms, insects, crustaceans, small fish and plant matter, and a varied menu is the nearest you can get to that in a tank.

If a new arrival is still refusing food after several days, test the water and check whether another fish is keeping it away from the food.

Temperament, pairs and safe tank mates

Seriously Fish describes lifalili as a territorial species that becomes incredibly aggressive when spawning, but is fairly placid otherwise, and suggests keeping it in pairs. That two-sided nature is the key to living with it. Most of the time you have a fairly placid fish holding its own patch. When it breeds, the same fish will drive off anything that comes near its eggs or fry, and it means it.

Buying one fish or two

A single jewel cichlid can live perfectly well on its own in a suitable community. If you want to see pair behaviour, you need two fish that choose each other. FishBase describes the species as an open-substrate spawner with well-defined pair bonding, but because the fish are hard to sex at dispatch size, buying two is no guarantee of a male and a female. Two fish that do not pair may tolerate each other, or may not. Have a plan before you start: a spare tank, a divider or somewhere to rehome a fish if things go wrong.

Tank mates that suit it

Seriously Fish lists larger tetras, Synodontis catfish and some African cichlids as possible companions, provided the aquarium is spacious. The common thread is fish big enough not to be seen as food, quick enough to get out of the way, and robust enough to shrug off the odd chase. Choose companions that use different parts of the tank where you can, so they are not competing for the same caves on the floor.

Fish and invertebrates to leave out

• Small fish. Wikipedia lists small fish in the wild diet. Neon tetras, small rasboras and guppies are at real risk.
• Shrimp and small crustaceans. Crustaceans are part of the natural diet too, so dwarf shrimp are food, not tank mates.
• Timid or slow fish. A shy fish sharing a tank with a territorial cichlid is likely to spend its time hiding.
• Other bottom-territory cichlids in a small tank. Two species fighting over the same caves is a recipe for trouble unless there is a great deal of room.

Some buyers find this page while looking for any blue cichlid. If what you have in mind is a South American dwarf cichlid, the Electric Blue Ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) is a completely different fish with its own care guide, and not one we would house with a jewel.

Signs the balance has tipped

Watch for torn or split fins, a fish wedged into a corner or held at the surface, constant hiding, and a fish that no longer comes to food. Any of those means the pressure is too high. Adding more cover helps a little; separating the fish is the real fix. Seriously Fish ties the worst aggression to spawning, so be most watchful when two fish start holding a flat stone together.

Breeding behaviour if a pair forms

Wikipedia notes that the species is widely bred in aquariums and that reproduction in captivity is quite simple. The hard part is not getting them to spawn. It is managing the aggression that comes with it.

The published accounts line up well on the basics:

• Spawning site. FishBase describes an open-substrate spawner with well-defined pair bonding. Seriously Fish says eggs are laid in lines on flat rocks or another hard surface, and Wikipedia describes the female laying on a stone while the male fertilises the eggs straight away.
• Clutch size. Both Wikipedia and Seriously Fish give about 400 eggs.
• Hatching. Around 48 hours. Wikipedia ties that figure to a temperature of 25.5°C.
• Free swimming. Seriously Fish gives 24-72 hours after hatching; Wikipedia gives five and a half days, which appears to count from the spawning itself. Either way, expect a cloud of moving fry within about a week.
• Parental care. Wikipedia says the female leads the fry while the male defends the territory, and Seriously Fish gives about a month of parental care.

The sign to watch for is two fish keeping together around a flat stone and seeing off other fish. Wikipedia records that breeding fish go red over almost the whole body, so a pair in breeding dress is hard to miss. From that point the pair will claim a large share of the tank, and Seriously Fish's warning about incredible aggression when spawning applies in full.

In a community tank, that leaves you with three choices. Move the pair to a breeding tank of their own when you see them holding a stone together. Move the other fish out. Or fit a divider and give the pair one end. Leaving everything as it is and hoping for the best risks injured tank mates.

If you want to raise the fry, keep the water especially clean and be ready with foods small enough for them to swallow. Once the parents' care period of about a month is over, move the youngsters to a grow-out tank of their own.

If you do not want fry at all, a single fish, or two fish that never pair, will save you the trouble. With fish sold unsexed, though, there is no way to promise that two fish will or will not breed.

Health checks and what to watch for

OATA's care guidance describes a healthy fish as having clear, bright eyes, undamaged fins, intact scales and no ulcers or bumps. The warning signs it lists are clamped fins, flicking against the gravel or décor, and shimmying, a rocking on the spot without swimming forward. Those are the basics to check every time you feed.

With a jewel cichlid, three things are worth ruling out before you reach for any medicine.

Water quality

Ammonia and nitrite should both read zero, and nitrate should be no more than 20 mg per litre above your tap water. A cichlid on a meaty diet in a lightly maintained tank can push all three up. Test first: if the readings are off, a water change is the treatment.

Oxygen

In the wild this species lives in water rich in oxygen and, according to Wikipedia, is absent from oxygen-depleted waters. A fish hanging at the surface or breathing hard is telling you something. Check that the filter is running freely, that the outlet still ripples the surface, and that the temperature has not crept up, since warmer water holds less oxygen.

Aggression

Split fins, missing scales and a fish that hides all day can be signs of bullying rather than disease. Look at who is chasing whom before you assume the fish is sick. If one fish is being targeted, move it, or divide the tank, before the injuries become infected.

A few habits keep trouble away:

• watch every fish eat at least once a day;
• keep to the weekly water change even when the tank looks clean;
• quarantine any new fish in a separate tank before adding it to an established community;
• keep a note of your test results so you can spot a drift before it becomes a crisis.

Colour on its own is a poor health gauge, since it shifts with diet and breeding condition. Pale colour that lasts, combined with any of the warning signs above, is the point to test the water and look closely. If you are unsure what you are seeing, email us a short video of the fish and its tank. It is far easier to help when we can see the behaviour.

Arrival and the first week

Please read our delivery and live-arrival information before ordering. The tank must be ready before the parcel arrives: filter running and mature, water tested, heater set and the temperature matched to the range above. Someone needs to be at the delivery address to take in the parcel, because live fish cannot be left on a doorstep.

Your fish travels in an oxygen-filled bag inside insulated packaging, with heat packs when conditions call for them, carried by a tracked courier licensed to carry live animals. We email you the confirmed delivery date and the tracking details.

If something goes wrong in transit

Start recording a continuous unboxing video while the parcel is still sealed, and keep filming as you open it, so the fish is shown in its still-sealed bag in the same take. If a fish arrives dead, dying or clearly compromised, email hello@tropicalfishco.co.uk on the day of delivery with your order number and that video. Photos alone do not meet the policy. The resolution is a replacement with your next order or a refund for the affected fish, subject to the guarantee terms.

Acclimation, step by step

1. Turn the tank lights off or down.
2. Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 20-30 minutes so the temperatures match. Floating does not match pH or hardness, so if your water is very different from the ranges above, ask us for advice before you start.
3. Net the fish out of the bag and into the tank.
4. Discard the bag water. Never pour it into your aquarium.

The first week

Keep the lights low for the rest of the first day and leave the fish alone to find its feet. A new fish may head for cover and stay there for a while; give it time. Offer a small amount of food the next day and remove anything left uneaten.

Over the first week, watch three things: breathing, appetite and behaviour. Steady breathing, interest in food and gradual exploration of the tank are all good signs. Hard breathing, clamped fins or a fish that is being chased constantly need action, and the health section above tells you where to start. Hold off on adding any other new fish until the newcomer is feeding confidently and has claimed a spot of its own.

Further reading

These are the sources behind the figures on this page, if you want to read further.

• FishBase: Rubricatochromis lifalili: accepted name, maximum size, water values, distribution and habitat.
• Seriously Fish: Hemichromis lifalili: aquarium size, water conditions, behaviour, identification and breeding.
• Wikipedia: Hemichromis lifalili: description, wild diet, sex differences and breeding.
• Wikipedia: Hemichromis: the 2022 split of the jewel cichlids into Rubricatochromis and the trade naming problems.
• OATA care guidance for dwarf cichlids: water quality standards, maintenance and health signs from the UK ornamental fish trade association.