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I just got eight red jewel cichlid fry, Hemichromis lifalili. I have a dozen on the way from a different source. I am raising them large angelfish. Jewel cichlids can be peaceful or aggressive. My experience is, Hemichromis lifalili is peaceful and can be raised in a community tank.

 

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I have added more Hemichromis today. The fry are slightly bigger then the previous fry. The exact species of this batch of Hemichromis is unknown. I successfully breed Hemichromis lifalili in the late 1980's. I had a colony of seven in a 20 gallon long aquarium. The aquarium had two bubble wands for an under gravel filter, which created a strong current and a lot of oxygen. The colony was always very peaceful, living in a cave together. Then, one day a female laid her eggs on a smooth rock in front of the cave. The female was pale in color compared to the male. Two weeks later, there was numerous fry swimming. My next step, was to raise Hemichromis lifalili with angelfish. About 25 years later, I combined them today. None of the fry seem aggressive towards my angelfish, which is a relieve. The combination of angelfish and jewel cichlids looks sharp.

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The jewel cichlids bred. Here are pictures of the pair with eggs.