# Blue Hemichromis



## sandyfreckle (Jan 12, 2019)

Hi,
I picked these up from the LFS being told they were a different species of hemichromis. Can someone please confirm what species of hemichromis, hybrid or a line bred colour variant? The LFS were adamant they weren't a hybrid but I can't seem to find much info on the web.

In the pics they were just fed so have some pudding around the waist.. :fish:

Thanks


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

These are what is known in the hobby as "Neon Jewel cichlids" or even sometimes called "Hemichromis sp. neon". It is not known exactly what they are. What we do know is that they are very, very similar to the regular common jewel in the hobby, _Hemichromis guttatus_. I can generally easily distinguish the species in the Hemichromis genus but I cannot always distinguish these from a regular _Hemichromis guttatus_. IMO, they basically differ on how much blue spangling they typically show (the neon jewels typically show much more blue spots or irridiospores), though because the fish are chameleon-like sometimes in certain states, they are not easy to distinguish from the regular jewel.
So they could be a line-bred variant (from the far east as some speculate?), a regional variant of _Hemichromis guttatus_ with unknown collection point, or an undescribed species with unknown collection point (but very, very similar to _Hemichromis guttatus_). They could also be a hybrid developed from crossing different Hemichromis but since they breed true and are so similar to the regular jewel this seems less likely. I've had this type of jewel now, going on 3 years, and I would tend to think they are just a line bred variant. Though I have flip-flopped on what i think they are and it is really speculation on my part, as any of these are possibilities.
By the way, this kind of jewel is probably more commonly available today then the regular type.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Pretty!


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## sandyfreckle (Jan 12, 2019)

BC in SK said:


> These are what is known in the hobby as "Neon Jewel cichlids" or even sometimes called "Hemichromis sp. neon". It is not known exactly what they are. What we do know is that they are very, very similar to the regular common jewel in the hobby, _Hemichromis guttatus_. I can generally easily distinguish the species in the Hemichromis genus but I cannot always distinguish these from a regular _Hemichromis guttatus_. IMO, they basically differ on how much blue spangling they typically show (the neon jewels typically show much more blue spots or irridiospores), though because the fish are chameleon-like sometimes in certain states, they are not easy to distinguish from the regular jewel.
> So they could be a line-bred variant (from the far east as some speculate?), a regional variant of _Hemichromis guttatus_ with unknown collection point, or an undescribed species with unknown collection point (but very, very similar to _Hemichromis guttatus_). They could also be a hybrid developed from crossing different Hemichromis but since they breed true and are so similar to the regular jewel this seems less likely. I've had this type of jewel now, going on 3 years, and I would tend to think they are just a line bred variant. Though I have flip-flopped on what i think they are and it is really speculation on my part, as any of these are possibilities.
> By the way, this kind of jewel is probably more commonly available today then the regular type.


Thanks very much BC for all that info. These guys have heaps of personality and already eating from my hand.


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