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Scientific name: Julidochromis ornatus
Common name: Golden Julie, Julie (ornatus)
Region: Lake Tanganyika (Sediment-Rich Rocky Habitat)
Size: max 3 inches (7.5 centimetres). Interestingly, the males are generally smaller than the females.
Color: Your typical white with black stripes like other Julies, but they have more of a yellow belly.
Water Chemistry: pH: 8.6, very hard water
Temperature: 77-79
Aggression: aggressive
Compatibility: You need to be most worried about their conspecific compatibility. Establish a colony right away, generally with only one male, and don't introduce new fish!
Diet: Omnivorous. They will primarily feed on crustaceans, insect larvae and molluscs. They also ingest sand particles, as well as filementous and diatomaceous algae. A diet in the aquarium could include mysis shrimp, mosquito larvae, daphnia, plankton as well as high quality flakes and pellets.
How to breed: Make sure you have a couple of inches of fine gravel, and lots of rock and slate to produce numerous caves. Start with a small group of fish and watch them to see who pairs off. Select the prospective pair and place them in their own breeding tank. You can feed them frozen adult brine shrimp to help condition the fish.
Like most julies, Julidochromis ornatus is a secretive cave spawner. You will notice the fish excavating and rearranging the tank extensively. If the fish disappear for a while, they have either laid eggs, or are perhaps guarding the newly hatched fry. This is the time to start feeding live or frozen baby brine shrimp. There are reports that up to 30 eggs are laid.
General: Ornatus is latin for ornate, and this fish lives up to the name - it is quite beautiful indeed. Good specimens display rich golden stripes, hence the common name "Golden Julie". One of the interesting characteristics of this fish is that multiple generations of fry can peacefully coexist in the spawning tank. This is fascinating to watch and I recommend this fish to cichlid fans who want to try their first julie. |
African Cichlids 
