Banded jewel cichlid

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep a single fish or a bonded pair in a tank of at least 200 liters with rocks, wood and open swimming space. Water is flexible, slightly acidic to neutral, 24 to 28 C and pH 6.5 to 7.5. It is highly predatory and territorial, so avoid small or slow tankmates. Feed meaty foods like frozen shrimp, earthworms and carnivore pellets.

In the wild

The banded jewel is a larger, more elongated cousin of the common jewel cichlids, found across West and Central African fresh waters. It is a predator that ambushes smaller fish and eats large invertebrates. Breeding adults deepen to a rich red flecked with shiny blue spots and show dark blotches along the side.

Good to know

Hemichromis elongatus is a biparental substrate spawner that lays eggs on a cleaned rock or root and guards them jealously. Unlike the smaller jewel cichlids, it grows big enough to treat most tankmates as food. It has spread outside Africa as an introduced species in some warm regions.

Did you know

Its nickname five star general comes from the row of dark blotches along its side, which look a bit like rank insignia.

Related species

• 

  Jewel cichlid

  Hemichromis bimaculatus

  5.9 in (15 cm)30 gal (115 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Blood-red jewel cichlid

  Hemichromis lifalili

  3.9 in (10 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–79°F (23–26°C)

• 

  Bumblebee cichlid

  Pseudotropheus crabro

  5.9 in (15 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Convict Cichlid

  Amatitlania nigrofasciata

  5.9 in (15 cm)25 gal (95 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Salvin's Cichlid

  Cichlasoma salvini

  5.9 in (15 cm)26 gal (100 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Fuelleborn's cichlid

  Labeotropheus fuelleborni

  7.1 in (18 cm)46 gal (175 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)