How Often Do Jewel Cichlids Mate?

Hemichormis bimaculatus, or the jewel cichlid, is a colorful red fish with two or more distinctive dark spots on its body. The term "jewel" refers to the light iridescent spots that are present on the fish's body that look like jewels or rhinestones. Originating from freshwater streams, lakes and rivers in Africa, the jewel cichlid can grow up to 6 inches in length and have an average lifespan of five years.

  1. Mating Behavior

    • Female jewel cichlids have tail fins that have a red tip, with the top half a darker color than the bottom, which fades to a yellow-gray color. Male cichlids have a tail fin with red and blue spots on it. When living in groups, male and female cichlids will pair off to mate or spawn. When jewel cichlids are ready to mate, the female will turn a deep red color. The female jewel cichlid will lay between 500 and 600 eggs on flat rocks or the sides of a breeding tank, at which point the male fertilizes them. Jewel cichlids can spawn every three weeks.

    Good Parents

    • Once the eggs have been laid and fertilized, the parents will protect them and provide custodial care for their eggs and hatched young, called fry. The mated pair of cichlids form a joint defense around the eggs to protect them from intruding fish that may eat them. Unfortunately, if a hobbyist places the mated pair in a separate breeding tank, as is the practice of many fish breeders, they will have no targets to drive off from their territory as they would in the wild. Their instinct to protect their young means that if there is an absence of predators that threaten their young, the mated pair will turn on each other and fight viciously, with the end result often being the death of the female cichlid.

    Separation

    • If you choose to separate your jewel cichlids when they are spawning, place the fish in an adjacent aquarium so they can see the fish in the main tank and have a target to focus on that they need to watch and keep away from their young. Another option is to partition off a quarter of the aquarium with a clear piece of acrylic or aquarium glass, or even aquarium-grade plastic screen, and keep larger fishes on one side and the spawning pair on the other. This allows the spawning pair to see or perceive "dangerous" fish that may eat their young and take their aggression out by swimming toward them and driving them off instead of taking it out on each other.

    Cichlid Fry

    • After they have spawned, jewel cichlids will dig a hole in the substrate or sand of the aquarium to make a nest for their fry. Jewel cichlid fry hatch within three days and can swim freely within four days. Once the fry hatch, the female will pick them up and hold them in her mouth to take them to the newly dug nest. The male and female will alternate between guarding the nest from outside it and sitting in the nest to take care of the fry. You can provide crushed fish flakes and tiny brine shrimp for the fry.