[WiJosh]

i recently purchased a young cichlid at the LFS and i think it may be some sort of jewel. of course the owner said he couldnt remember what it was. it is about 2"-2.25" long.

any help in identfying it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CichlidAndrew]

Looks like a jewel cross. Not enough color for a pure jewel.

 

[aquaticclarity]

It's a jewel cichlid (Hemichromis sp.). Most liekly it's a H. guttatus, which most of the Hemichromis sold in the U.S. are. It's a highly variable species ranging from pale orange/red with a few black spots to vivid red covered in blue dots. It seems that you can almost pick a river in West Africa and pull out a different colored H. guttatus.

I wouldn't assume your jewel is a hybrid. It may be one of the less colorful forms of H. guttatus, but it's hard to see all the colors that the fish might have in the photos you posted.