Marlier's Julie Julidochromis marlieri

Marlier's Julie
Checkerboard Julie
Marlier's Julie
Marlier's Julie, also called the Chequered or Checkerboard Julie due to its black and white squared appearance, is a cichlid native to rocky shores of northwestern Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.
Marlier's Julie
Marlier's Julie
Marlier's Julie
They grow to 15cm long. Females are often larger than males. Sometimes the "chequered" pattern can look more like spots or broken horizontal lines.
Marlier's Julie, tail has white spots on black
Marlier's Julie, tail has black spots on white
Marlier's Julie with Princess of Burundi, tail has lines
They usually form monogamous pairs and females lay eggs in a small cave or crevice, rather than being mouth brooders like many Tanganyikan cichlids. Both parents clean and fan the eggs.
Marlier's Julie
Marlier's Julie
Marlier's Julie
Above have yellow rather than white but are not Golden Julies, J. ornatus. They have a horizontal lined pattern (albeit broken) but they are not Convict Julies, J. regani. Actual colours and patterns of Marlier's Julie vary somewhat among different populations. (Tail patterns can vary as in the line further above showing the usual white dots on black, black dots on white and fan-shaped lines.)