The head is powder blue with a black vertical bar glowing through the eye, and a black blotch is present on the upper part of the edge of the gill cover. The body ground coloration goes from yellow to blue, depending on the individual and it's mood, and more or less defined black vertical bars are present on the sides of the fish. A more or less defined longitudinal black line goes from the operculum blotch and runs to the center of the caudal peduncle. Another black line runs the base of the dorsal fin, which is powder blue and turns bright red at the tip. The same pattern of blue going to red if found in the anal fin, which harbors three orange ocelli, outlined in black.
Pelvic fins are a light yellow, almost transparent, whereas the ventrals are almost black.
Finally, the caudal fin is almost totally red, with some blue on the peduncle. The very first time I ever saw this fish's name was on a shipment list my Aquarium Society was supposed to receive from Paul V. Loiselle. Unfortunately, this beauty wasn't part of the actual shipment we received in November 1995, as they were replaced by another species from the Victoria Lake area. In April 1999, as I was invited by the Ohio Cichlid Association for a talk on Victoria Cichlids, I was informed that they had received this fish from Paul Loiselle, and the person in charge of the conservation program was afraid that the fish would disappear from the area cause of the lack of interest from the breeders to keep fish on a long term basis. He thus offered a part of his original breeding group, an offer I could not decline.