Above: In this picture a young premium quality Masked Juli Cichlid is swimming in one of our aquariums, when one of us snapped this picture.

Comments: These fish have bright bodies with dark intricate patterns and a mask across their eyes.

Origin: The ancestors of the Masked Juli lived in Lake Tanganyika. But now they live in aquariums all over the world.

Maximum Size: In aquariums, they can grow to be about 2.75" long, including their tails, which is a nice size for aquariums 30-gallons and greater.

Behaviors: Masked Juli Cichlids are usually rather aggressive fish, and can be even more aggressive to each other and when protecting their eggs and babies.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include other small Cichlids from Lake Tanganyika.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: Masked Juli Cichlids live best from about 75 to 80-degrees F. with 78 being perhaps ideal.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Pellets is the best food for these Cichlids to eat. It's best to feed them small pellets.

In their natural habitat these Masked Julies eat small invertebrates picked from the surface of the rocks.

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Water Conditions: These fish will do best in water with a pH of 7.8 ro 8.8 and high hardness, this can be done by adding so-called Tanganyika salts to the aquarium water.

DrTom and Nevin spawned and raised large numbers of them for many years in water with a pH of about 7.8 with high hardness here in San Diego.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: Masked Juli Cichlids will eventually need to live in an aquarium with at least 30-gallons of water.

Each Cichlid will need at least 3-gallons of water.

Decor: Gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel.

Live plants are beautiful and improve the water quality, but most aquariums with Masked Juli Cichlids do not have live plants.

They love aquarium-safe rock, and need a pile of aquarium-safe rocks, where they will find cave, spawn, and raise their babies.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended. Most 30-gallon aquariums do well with a Penguin 350B Filter, and this is sort of the minimum set up for Masked Juli Cichlids.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range. Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: Masked Juli Cichlids can live for several years. Keep the water conditions excellent and feed them premium foods, and they'll most likely breed and produce the next generation of fish for your aquarium.

Gender: The Bailey Bros, DrTom and Nevin, raised this species for many years and never could really determine the gender, and they had many pairs.

The Bros noticed that there was often a smaller fish that stayed closer to the base of their territory and a larger fish that strayed farther away.

The smaller fish constantly came out of the cave to interact with the larger one. All of this is very interesting.

Breeding: Masked Juli Cichlids are Cave Spawners.

Click here for a lot more about breeding various tropical fish in aquariums.

Popularity: The Masked Juli Cichlid has been a popular aquarium fish.

Names: The scientific name for the Masked Juli is Julidochromis transcriptus.

Variations: There are several variations of this species with varying patterns of black and white that are known to us.

Click here for a lot more information about keeping and caring for Masked Juli Cichlids, including a picture gallery.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.