Red Jewel Cichlid (Rubricatochromis bimaculatus)

Choose a territorial West African cichlid

Red Jewel Cichlid, also known as Jewelfish or Red Cichlid, is Rubricatochromis bimaculatus. Older aquarium literature may place the same fish under Hemichromis bimaculatus. FishBase places it in the cichlid family Cichlidae and records a West African distribution associated with forested areas. Wild fish occur in mud-bottomed and sand-bottomed canals, including sites some distance inland from the coast.

This is a behaviour-led choice rather than a general community fish. FishBase describes aquarium behaviour as aggressive and pair-oriented, while the detailed husbandry profile reports that territorial pressure can become exceptionally strong during spawning. Choose it if you enjoy observing territory patrols, pair interaction and rapid changes in social behaviour, and can act promptly when one fish is being driven away.

We class the care level as advanced. The routine feeding and water care are straightforward, but managing pairing, aggression and tank mates requires judgement, spare separation capacity and close observation. A peaceful mixed aquarium is the wrong starting point. A species-focused arrangement or a large, carefully structured cichlid aquarium gives you far more control.

Browse our African cichlid collection if you are comparing this fish with cichlids that demand a different social plan. Compare adult dimensions, water requirements and territorial behaviour rather than colour alone.

Select the dispatch size and sold unit

One purchase supplies one animal of the size selected on the live selector. The size labels are 4–5 cm, 5–7 cm and 7–10 cm; use the selector to see which choice can be ordered. The size you select is the size supplied, not the adult size.

Dispatch length must not be used to infer age, sex, origin or social compatibility. A smaller fish still needs an aquarium planned around adult dimensions, while a larger dispatch grade does not establish that two independently chosen fish will form a compatible pair.

Sex is guaranteed only when the selected option explicitly states male or female. This Red Jewel Cichlid listing has no sex-guaranteed option.

Some gallery images have been digitally enhanced to improve image quality. They show the listed type of animal rather than guaranteeing the exact markings of the individual supplied, so natural colour and pattern can vary.

Plan around adult length and footprint

Plan for a robust medium-sized cichlid rather than the selected dispatch measurement. FishBase records a maximum length of 13.6 cm standard length and also notes up to 12 cm in captivity. Seriously Fish uses 15 cm standard length for aquarium planning, so allowing for a fish approaching 15 cm is the safer practical decision.

Tank footprint matters because aggression is managed horizontally. FishBase gives a minimum aquarium length of at least 100 cm. The detailed species profile recommends a 120 × 30 cm base, approximately 108 litres at 120 × 30 × 30 cm. Use the 120 cm footprint as the practical baseline, especially if you intend to manage a pair. More water without enough length does not create the same escape distance or room for separate territories.

Set the routine aquarium range at 22–27°C, pH 6.0–7.8 and 4–12 dGH. These values sit within the species aquarium profile and use the narrower upper temperature and hardness limits from UK dwarf-cichlid group guidance. Keep ammonia and nitrite at zero, and prevent nitrate from rising more than 20 mg per litre above the normal tap-water level.

• Adult planning length: approaching 15 cm standard length.
• Practical base: 120 × 30 cm, approximately 108 litres.
• Routine water: 22–27°C, pH 6.0–7.8 and 4–12 dGH.
• Social warning: territorial, with much stronger aggression during spawning.

Check whether this animal suits the aquarium

Build retreats and broken sight lines

Start with the 120 × 30 cm base and divide it into usable zones. Provide as many hiding places as the footprint allows, using rockwork arranged into caves, aquarium-safe wood, clay flower pots and areas of dense planting. The purpose is to let a pressured fish leave the dominant fish’s view rather than remain visible from one end of the tank to the other.

Turn the footprint into separate decisions

Red Jewel Cichlids dig, so choose strongly rooted plants or keep them in pots. Check that rocks, wood and pots remain stable if substrate is moved around their bases. Decorative cover only works when a fish can enter it and leave by a route that is not controlled by another fish.

Before introducing livestock, look along the front glass from both ends. If every cave is visible from every other cave, add another barrier. In a 120 cm aquarium, a central wood or rock feature can divide the footprint into two broad visual areas while smaller retreats create local cover. Preserve swimming room around the barriers; packing every gap with hardscape can trap a subordinate fish instead of protecting it.

Cover is particularly important for a pair because even settled partners will often chase one another. Inspect the layout again whenever aggression changes. Move a barrier only when doing so solves a clear problem, since repeated wholesale rearrangement also removes familiar refuge points.

Hold water within a stable routine range

The species aquarium profile gives 22–28°C, pH 6.0–7.8 and 4–18 dGH. OATA’s dwarf-cichlid group guidance gives 22–27°C and 4–12 dGH, so use 22–27°C, pH 6.0–7.8 and 4–12 dGH as the routine target. This keeps every value within the species limits while choosing the narrower UK group range for temperature and hardness.

Measure before changing anything

• Test temperature, pH and general hardness before choosing the fish.
• Keep ammonia at 0 mg per litre and nitrite at 0 mg per litre.
• Keep nitrate no more than 20 mg per litre above the normal tap-water level.
• Record results so a gradual trend is visible before it becomes a sudden problem.

Use our water chemistry guide to understand what each reading means, then compare your measurements with the target through the aquarium water matcher. Base the decision on measured aquarium water rather than an assumed local-water value.

For example, an aquarium at 25°C, pH 7.2 and 9 dGH sits within the routine range. If a later test shows pH 7.2 but ammonia at 0.25 mg per litre, the urgent problem is toxic waste, not pH. Pause further stocking, check the biological filter and use water changes to restore safe conditions.

Avoid sudden chemical adjustment merely to reach the middle of a range. Stability inside the range is more useful than repeatedly moving pH or hardness. Match replacement water closely for temperature, treat it for chlorine or chloramine and make changes in controlled steps.

Size filtration for waste and oxygen

A biological filter is essential. RSPCA aquarium welfare guidance explains that fish release toxic ammonia, which filter bacteria convert first to toxic nitrite and then to safer nitrate. The filter must therefore be mature, continuously operating and large enough for the aquarium’s biological load.

For the approximately 108-litre example aquarium, the species profile recommends turnover of four to five times the aquarium volume per hour. That corresponds to a filter rated around 430–540 litres per hour. Treat the rating as a starting point: media condition, pipework and the completed layout can reduce real flow. Arrange the outlet so water circulates around barriers without forcing the fish to remain in a harsh current.

Prepare before the fish arrives

1. Set up the full aquarium, filter, heater, substrate and hardscape.
2. Mature the biological filter before adding the fish.
3. Confirm ammonia and nitrite both remain at 0 mg per litre.
4. Check that temperature is stable throughout the daily room-temperature cycle.
5. Add livestock gradually so bacterial capacity can respond to increased feeding and waste.

Our first tropical aquarium guide explains how to prepare and mature the system before livestock enters it. A new or recently disrupted filter can develop unhealthy ammonia and nitrite levels when feeding and waste rise faster than the bacterial population.

Check the filter for blocked intakes, slowing flow and trapped debris. If the filter needs cleaning, do not run it under the tap because chlorine or chloramine may kill the beneficial bacteria established in the media. Rinse it lightly in aquarium water removed during a water change, and avoid replacing all mature media at once.

Feed one controlled varied meal

Feed once a day and offer only what the fish can finish within a few minutes. OATA’s feeding guidance for dwarf cichlids recommends a good-quality flake or granule, supported by small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp or tubifex. The species profile also calls for a quality dried food and an algae-based component, with vegetable matter such as spirulina flake or blanched spinach.

Build variety without increasing the portion

Variety means rotating appropriate foods, not adding every food to one oversized meal. If granules form the main portion on one day, use a modest algae-based component on another and a small live or frozen item on a later day. Live food may help enhance colour, but clean water and low social stress remain essential to normal appearance and behaviour.

Watch the fish eat. Food should be taken promptly and the meal should end within a few minutes. Remove visible leftovers before they break down. If food reaches caves or dense plants uneaten, reduce the next portion rather than relying on the filter to process the excess.

A useful portion check is the aquarium after feeding: there should not be a layer of food on the substrate, repeated fragments circulating through the filter intake or food left inside an unoccupied retreat. Reduced appetite is also a health or stress signal, so pair the feeding observation with a water test and a check for bullying rather than adding richer food immediately.

Maintain the aquarium every week

At least once every week, change 25% of the water. Siphon solid waste from accessible substrate, but preserve the caves and visual barriers that fish rely on. Treat replacement tap water with a conditioner that removes chlorine or chloramine before it enters the aquarium, and match its temperature closely enough to avoid an abrupt swing.

Use one repeatable weekly sequence

1. Observe both sides of the fish before disturbing the aquarium.
2. Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, then record the readings.
3. Remove 25% of the water while siphoning accumulated waste.
4. Check the filter intake and flow for blockage.
5. Rinse dirty media lightly in removed aquarium water only when needed.
6. Add conditioned replacement water and confirm the final temperature.

Testing before the water change shows what happened during the week. Testing only afterwards can hide a rising waste trend. If ammonia or nitrite is detected, treat that as an immediate water-quality problem: stop adding fish, check filter operation, reduce excess feeding and use partial water changes to return both readings to zero.

Nitrate should not rise more than 20 mg per litre above the normal tap-water value. For example, if treated tap water measures 10 mg per litre nitrate, keep the aquarium at no more than 30 mg per litre. This comparison is more useful than treating the aquarium result as though the incoming water began at zero.

Inspect hardscape after siphoning because digging can expose the base of a rock or pot. Keep heavy items stable and restore any escape route blocked by moved substrate. Avoid dismantling all territories during routine cleaning; work around the established structure unless a safety or aggression problem requires a deliberate redesign.

Respond to behaviour and health changes

Learn the fish’s normal swimming, feeding, breathing, colour and use of cover. Individual behaviour varies, but a change from the established pattern is useful because it can reveal water-quality stress or social pressure early.

If you see a change, take the first useful action

Also watch for damaged fins, missing scales, white spots, fluffy growths, ulcers, bumps or a clear change in body condition. These signs do not all have the same cause, so avoid choosing a treatment from appearance alone. Test the water first and separate a fish immediately when continued attack is causing injury.

A subordinate fish that remains hidden, cannot reach food or is repeatedly pinned into one corner needs a physical safety response. Use a secure divider or separate aquarium rather than waiting for the pair to resolve the conflict. Cover is helpful only while the pressured fish can still move, feed and rest without repeated pursuit.

If water readings are in range but abnormal behaviour, breathing or visible damage continues, contact us for health guidance. Record the readings, recent maintenance, feeding response and social changes so the next decision is based on the whole pattern.

Acclimatise and check the first month

Arrange for someone to receive the fish. Start filming before the sealed parcel is opened, keep the outer box visible and record one continuous take showing the fish inside the sealed bag before anything is disturbed. Follow our delivery and Live Arrival Guarantee policy, including any claim requirements shown there. Float the bag for 20–30 minutes before releasing the fish, and never pour transport water into the aquarium.

Follow the arrival steps in order

1. Start filming while the parcel is still sealed and the outer box is visible.
2. Open it in one continuous take and show the fish inside the sealed bag.
3. Float the bag for 20–30 minutes.
4. Release the fish without adding bag water to the aquarium.

Confirm that the aquarium temperature is stable and the filter is operating normally, then keep disturbance low while the fish locates cover and boundaries. Observe its balance, breathing and whether another fish immediately blocks access to shelter.

During the first week, test ammonia and nitrite frequently enough to detect any rise after the biological load increases. Both must remain at 0 mg per litre. Check that the fish emerges to feed, can reach more than one part of the aquarium and is not confined to a corner by a resident fish.

At the end of the first week, compare appetite, breathing, colour and swimming with the first-day pattern. A fish that remains hidden may be using cover normally, but constant hiding combined with missed meals or repeated chasing calls for a social intervention. Add a sight barrier or separate the aggressor and target rather than adding more fish to dilute the behaviour.

Across the first month, keep the weekly 25% water-change routine, record nitrate before each change and inspect digging around hardscape. Do not add further livestock quickly. Every addition increases feeding and waste while also changing territory boundaries, so allow the filter and social structure to settle before making another stocking decision.

Form a pair with an exit plan

Seriously Fish describes this species as best kept in pairs, but two fish purchased and placed together are not automatically a compatible pair. Introducing two adults as a presumed pair may result in the weaker fish being killed. Pair planning therefore requires observation, separation equipment and enough space to prevent one fish controlling the complete footprint.

A recognised approach is to begin with five or six young fish in a species aquarium and allow a pair to form naturally. This listing supplies one fish per purchase, and a dispatch-size label does not establish life stage. Anyone using the group method must provide space for the complete group and be ready to remove the remaining fish as soon as a pair becomes clear, because they may be attacked.

Separate courtship from dangerous pressure

• Both fish should be able to feed and move through the aquarium.
• Short chases should end with a working escape route.
• A fish held continuously behind the filter, at the surface or in one corner needs separation.
• Torn fins, lost scales or exclusion from food require immediate action.
• Have a divider or separate mature aquarium ready before attempting a pair.

Spawning greatly increases territorial aggression. The pair may claim a hard surface and defend eggs or fry against every other fish in the aquarium. If a pair begins guarding a site, reassess all occupants immediately rather than relying on behaviour seen before spawning.

A single fish avoids the hazards of forced pairing, but it remains territorial and still needs the full adult footprint, cover and careful companion screening. Do not reduce the aquarium plan simply because only one fish is kept. The tank must still accommodate adult length, active movement and a defensible retreat without turning the whole aquarium into one exposed space.

Screen every companion for spawning risk

Avoid treating this as a routine addition to a peaceful community aquarium. The species profile specifically warns that Red Jewel Cichlids are not recommended for the general community tank and may become incredibly aggressive while spawning. Avoid keeping other fish with an actively spawning pair unless they can be moved before serious pursuit begins.

The profile reports conditional success with larger Alestiid tetras such as Congo tetras, Synodontis catfish, loricariids and, in a sufficiently large aquarium, African cichlids such as Steatocranus. These examples are screening starting points, not universal companions. Individual behaviour, footprint, refuge access and breeding condition can change the outcome.

Apply the same screen to every proposed companion

Introduce companions only to a mature, filtered aquarium with ammonia and nitrite at zero. Observe access to food and cover rather than judging success from the absence of an immediate attack. Territorial pressure may rise after a pair forms or begins spawning.

Ask us for one stocking and compatibility assessment before mixing this cichlid with an established aquarium. Include the tank dimensions, measured water values, species and sizes already present, number of retreats and your separation plan. Honest uncertainty remains because no layout guarantees that independently selected fish will tolerate one another.

Answer the key buying questions

What is the scientific name of the Red Jewel Cichlid?

Rubricatochromis bimaculatus is its accepted scientific name. Older aquarium literature may place the same fish under Hemichromis bimaculatus, while Jewelfish and Red Cichlid are established common names.

How many Red Jewel Cichlids does one purchase supply?

One purchase supplies one fish of the selected size. A pair or group requires a separate purchase quantity for each animal, and independently selected fish are not guaranteed to form a compatible pair.

Which dispatch sizes are shown for Rubricatochromis bimaculatus?

The live selector uses 4–5 cm, 5–7 cm and 7–10 cm labels. These are dispatch sizes rather than adult lengths; plan for a fish approaching 15 cm standard length.

What aquarium does a Red Jewel Cichlid need?

Use a 120 × 30 cm base, approximately 108 litres, with caves, wood, rock and broken sight lines. FishBase gives an aquarium length of at least 100 cm, but the longer species-profile footprint provides more room for territorial management.

Should Red Jewel Cichlids be kept alone or as a pair?

A single fish or an established compatible pair can be planned for. Two fish placed together may fight, while a pair can become intensely aggressive during spawning, so prepare a divider or separate mature aquarium before attempting pairing.

What water conditions does this fish need?

Maintain 22–27°C, pH 6.0–7.8 and 4–12 dGH, with ammonia and nitrite at 0 mg per litre. Keep nitrate no more than 20 mg per litre above the normal tap-water level.

What should it eat?

Feed once daily with only what it finishes within a few minutes. Use quality flake or granules, include spirulina flake or blanched spinach, and rotate small live or frozen foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp or tubifex.

How should this fish be acclimatised?

Start filming before the sealed parcel is opened, keep the outer box visible and record one continuous take showing the fish inside the sealed bag. Then float the bag for 20–30 minutes before release and do not pour bag water into the aquarium.

Can it live with other fish?

It is not suited to a routine peaceful community aquarium. Larger Alestiid tetras, Synodontis catfish, loricariids and some African cichlids are conditional possibilities only in a large, structured aquarium with close observation and immediate separation capacity.

Check the scientific and care references

• FishBase: Rubricatochromis bimaculatus — scientific identity, family, distribution, wild habitat, recorded length and aquarium behaviour notes.
• Seriously Fish: Hemichromis bimaculatus — aquarium footprint, water conditions, filtration, diet, maintenance, pairing and compatibility.
• OATA: How to look after dwarf cichlids — UK group guidance covering water quality, feeding, maintenance, introduction and health observations.
• RSPCA aquarium environment guidance — biological filtration and the aquarium nitrogen cycle.