All fish / Cichlidae

Marlier's julie

Julidochromis marlieri

Also known as marlieri julie, marlier's julie, checkerboard julie, julie marlieri, marlieri cichlid, julidochromis marlieri gombi, ジュリドクロミス・マルリエリ, 马氏尖嘴丽鱼, 黑白间

This is a slim, rock-dwelling cichlid from Lake Tanganyika, with a bold checkerboard of dark brown or black blocks on a cream to golden base. Keepers like it for its striking pattern, its interesting pair behaviour and how well it suits a rocky Tanganyikan setup.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

12 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

7.8 to 9

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

One bonded pair

Diet

Carnivore: small crustaceans, brine shrimp, mysis, bloodworm and quality cichlid pellets

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

8 to 10 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania)

Breeding

Pairs lay their eggs on the roof of a cave or crevice. Both parents guard the eggs and fry, and older broods often stay on to help with the young. Breeding is fairly easy once you have a compatible pair, and finding that pair is usually the hard part.

Good to know

Breeding pairs become very territorial and can kill other fish of their own kind or similar cave-dwellers, so give them plenty of rockwork. Females are often larger than males, and a badly matched pair may fight to the death. It is similar to and hybridises with J. regani and J. transcriptus.