Blood-red jewel cichlid
A deep red West African cichlid that pairs for life, guards its young with unusual intensity and is the more evenly coloured of the two fish sold as jewel cichlids. It is a river fish rather than a Rift fish, and the water it wants is nothing like the rest of this batch.
Quick profile
- Scientific name
- Hemichromis lifalili
- Adult size
- 9–11 cm (3.5–4.3 in)
- Lifespan
- 5–8 years
- Temperature
- 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
- pH
- 6–7.5
- Hardness
- 4–12 °dGH
- Minimum tank
- 120 L (32 US gal)
- Minimum length
- 90 cm
- Swimming zone
- Bottom
- Social
- Pair
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Overall confidence
- moderate confidence
What keeping this species involves
Hardy and easy to feed in soft water. What has to be planned for is a breeding pair, because the pair is the normal state of this fish and the aggression that comes with it is not occasional.
Slow, shaded forest waters with leaf litter and submerged wood, softer and more acidic than most African cichlid habitat.
Identity and names
- Common name
- Blood-red jewel cichlid
- Scientific name
- Hemichromis lifalili
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Also sold as
- Hemichromis lifalili, lifalili, blood red jewel, African jewelfish
Adult size and growth
9–11 cm (3.5–4.3 in)
Typical lifespan in an aquarium: 5–8 years. Almost every animal sold in a shop is a juvenile, so the tank has to suit the size in the first line rather than the size in the bag.
Shape, which is what the compatibility engine reads instead of length alone: deep-bodied with a moderate. Assigned from what is typical of Cichlidae, not examined for this species.
Water and tank requirements
A pair holds a spawning territory and defends a radius around it. The length is what allows anything else in the tank to be outside that radius.
Temperature (°C)
Scale: 0 to 36 °C.
pH (pH)
Scale: 4 to 9.5 pH.
Hardness (°dGH)
Scale: 0 to 30 °dGH.
Why these ranges: A Congo basin forest stream fish, which is soft and slightly acidic water — the opposite of the Rift species it shares a shop shelf with. The band published here follows the habitat rather than the African-cichlid section of a care sheet.
Where these figures come from
Habitat class
Soft forest stream
Shaded, mineral-poor running water under forest canopy, with leaf litter and moderate tannin loading but without true blackwater chemistry.
The commonest habitat class in the aquarium trade and the one the conventional community-tank setting actually fits. Soft and slightly acidic, without the extremes that make blackwater difficult.
- Conductivity
- 20–120 µS/cm
- Flow
- low
- Dissolved oxygen
- moderate
- Seasonality
- moderate
These are figures for the KIND of water body, not measurements of this species. They are AquariumHQ’s summary of the general limnology and are given wide because the water is.
- TemperatureReasoned on this record
- This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
- pHReasoned on this record
- This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
- General hardnessReasoned on this record
- This record states its own reason for this band. See the water section.
| Requirement | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 23–28 °C (73–82 °F) | Stability matters more than hitting an exact figure. |
| pH | 6–7.5 | A stable pH outside the ideal band is usually better than an unstable one inside it. |
| General hardness | 4–12 °dGH | Check your supplier's published figure before choosing species. |
| Minimum volume | 120 L (32 US gal) | A floor, not a recommendation. |
| Minimum footprint | 90 cm long × 40 cm deep | A pair holds a spawning territory and defends a radius around it. The length is what allows anything else in the tank to be outside that radius. |
| Water flow | low | Match the outflow to this rather than to the filter's rating. |
| Lid required | Recommended | Reduces evaporation and prevents accidents. |
| Structure | Wood, leaf litter and flat stones with planting at the margins. A flat surface for spawning is the one structural requirement. |
Behaviour
- Clears a spawning site by carrying gravel away in the mouth and returns to it repeatedly for days before laying.
- Both parents patrol a defined radius around free-swimming fry and drive out anything that enters it, including fish several times their size.
Telling males from females
Both sexes are red; females typically show more blue spangling on the flanks and become intensely coloured when spawning. Sexing outside breeding condition is unreliable.
Feeding
Takes insect larvae and small crustaceans in the wild and accepts most prepared foods. Colour is noticeably better on a varied diet including frozen foods.
- Diet type
- Carnivore
- Staples
- Frozen bloodworm, Frozen brine shrimp, Sinking pellets, Live blackworm
Breeding
- Strategy
- Adhesive eggs on a cleaned flat surface, guarded by both parents
- Difficulty
- incidental
- Parental care
- guarding
Parental care is prolonged and thorough, with both fish herding free-swimming fry for weeks.
Tankmates and compatibility
Assessments are derived from stored traits by the compatibility engine, with the reasoning shown. A verdict is a statement about probability, not a guarantee — individual temperament can override it.
| Towards | Risk | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Small fish | high | Anything that fits in the mouth is at risk once this species reaches adult size. |
| Adult dwarf shrimp | near-certain | Cover reduces losses but rarely prevents them where the risk is high. |
| Shrimplets | near-certain | Determines whether a shrimp colony can grow rather than merely persist. |
| Snails | low | Applies to snails you wanted as well as snails you did not. |
| Long or trailing fins | occasional | Fin damage is an entry point for secondary infection. |
| Plants | uproots | Tough species such as Anubias and Java fern survive most grazers. |
Any pair in the catalogue can be assessed with the compatibility checker.
Welfare considerations
Points where the way this species is commonly sold or kept differs from what it actually needs.
- Sold as a colourful African cichlid alongside Rift species. Putting it in hard alkaline water is a slow mismatch rather than an immediate one, and the fish that results is duller and shorter-lived.
- A pair in a tank too small for a second territory will kill the other occupants during spawning. This is predictable rather than bad luck, and it is the usual outcome of adding one to an established community.
Problems to watch for
Most problems in a tank containing this species are general rather than species-specific. Start with the troubleshooting index and work from the observation rather than from a guess at the cause.
What AquariumHQ does not yet hold
Species-level disease susceptibility is modelled in the graph and is not yet populated. Health pages will not be published until each condition has veterinary sourcing, because health content written without evidence is the most harmful thing this product could publish. The gap is recorded in the coverage report.
Where it comes from
- Native range
- Congo basin — forest streams and river margins in central Africa
- Habitat
- Slow, shaded forest waters with leaf litter and submerged wood, softer and more acidic than most African cichlid habitat.
What the checklists say
2 distribution statements retrieved from GBIF checklists. Establishment means is reproduced from the source where it states one, and left unstated where it does not — a record of presence is not a record of origin.
| Status | Places | What this means |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded as present, establishment means not stated | 2 | The source records the species as present and does not say whether it is native or introduced. AquariumHQ does not fill that in. |
No checklist AquariumHQ holds positively calls this species native anywhere, so the native range above rests on AquariumHQ’s own reading of the literature rather than on a cited checklist.
Evidence
Every stored value with the kind of support behind it and where to check it. Evidence type and confidence are separate axes: an editorial position held confidently and a measurement held tentatively are different things.
| Claim | Value | Evidence type | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scientific name | Hemichromis lifalili | Observed / measured | high confidence | Catalogue of Life; GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| native range | Congo basin — forest streams and river margins in central Africa | Observed / measured | moderate confidence | GBIF — Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| adult size | 9–11 cm | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| lifespan | 5–8 years | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| temperature | 23–28 °C | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| ph | 6–7.5 pH | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| general hardness | 4–12 °dGH | Aquarium-literature consensus | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum tank volume | ≥ 120 L | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
| minimum tank length | ≥ 90 cm | AquariumHQ editorial position | moderate confidence | AquariumHQ husbandry synthesis |
Last reviewed 2026-08-10. Values labelled as an aquarium-literature consensus are AquariumHQ editorial positions rather than measurements — see how evidence is handled.
Why we say this
What each figure on this page rests on, and how far that is from being independently established.
Every figure on this page has a provenance. Open any claim to see what AquariumHQ holds for it, which sources say what, and what a claim of that kind actually needs. Different claims need different evidence: an accepted scientific name is settled by one authority, while a legal restriction needs a current primary instrument. A single source is often the right answer rather than a thin one.
scientific nameAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableBased on a verified authoritative source.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: accepted scientific name and classification — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. Checked against gbif on 2026-08-29. One authoritative backbone is what this class requires.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
native rangeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableLimited evidence — treat with caution.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: where the species occurs — 1 authoritative source in an appropriate context. 2 distribution statements held, and not one of them states an establishment means. Presence without native-or-introduced is not a native-range claim, so this stays below requirement rather than being read as one.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
adult sizeAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: size a well-kept specimen reaches — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
lifespanAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
temperatureAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
phAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
general hardnessAquariumHQ's own position, externally checkableAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
AquariumHQ's own position on a claim an external source could support.
What this kind of claim needs: what aquariumhq advises for keeping — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No external source is required for this class. AquariumHQ's position stands on its stated reasoning.
What would improve this: Go and read a source. This is reachable and has not been reached.
minimum tank volumeAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
minimum tank lengthAquariumHQ's judgement — no authority publishes thisAquariumHQ's own position, derived from evidenced inputs.
No external authority publishes this. The rationale carries the reasoning.
What this kind of claim needs: minimum tank size — no external source is required, provided AquariumHQ shows its reasoning. No authority publishes this. AquariumHQ derives it, and the derivation is recorded with its inputs and assumptions.
What would improve this: Keep the rationale current. There is no source to find.
Guides relevant to this species
Chosen from this record's own traits rather than listed on every page.
- Predator and prey sizeIt takes fish that fit in its mouth, and its mouth grows with it.
- Territorial behaviourIt defends ground, and the shape of what it defends decides the tank more than the volume does.
- Wild conditions and aquarium recommendationsThe water band on this page is an AquariumHQ position with a stated reason, not a measurement of a river.
- How to read a compatibility verdictThis animal is recorded as nipping fins, which is one of the few compatibility factors with real reports behind it.
Group size and social behaviour
Forms a strong pair bond and becomes formidable while breeding. Outside spawning the pair is manageable; a tank containing a spawning pair is effectively a species tank whether or not it was planned as one.