Hemichromis bimaculatus

The Jewel Cichlid comes from Africa. This freshwater species lives in coastal basins from Southern Guinea to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Nile basins. The fish is typically extremely hostile to other fish and has been known to take on much larger fishes, such as the Jack Dempsey cichlid, the Oscar cichlid and the Green Terror cichlid to establish a territory in the aquarium.

Jewels can reach lengths of 7-13 cm (6"). Their bodies are long and not very deep, like many of the African cichlids. They are reddish-orange to pink with iridescent blue-green specks on most of their scales. The colors are greatly enhanced during breeding.