Red zebra

Water parameters

Tolerated range for this species. Aim for the middle of each band rather than the extremes.

Tank and habitat

Substrate: sand.

Behavior

Plant interaction: destroys most plants.

Feeding

Herbivore-leaning omnivore. Spirulina flake and pellets as the staple. Blanched vegetables (peas, zucchini, spinach) and nori as supplements. Frozen brine shrimp and mysis occasionally. Avoid bloodworm (bloat risk). Feed 2-3 times daily in small amounts. The orange coloring benefits from food containing astaxanthin or other carotenoid pigments.

Compatibility

• Moderately aggressive Mbuna that's slightly calmer than demasoni and Melanochromis species but still too aggressive for a standard community tank. Keep with other Mbuna of comparable size and temperament.
• Standard Mbuna stocking: 1 male to 3-4 females in a group of 8-12. Overstocking with rock cover to break sightlines. One male dominates and the females establish their own pecking order.
• Despite the common name, the most popular color morph is solid orange. The "zebra" in the name refers to the original description of the species which included barred morphs. Stores often sell orange, red-orange, and albino variants all as "red zebra."
• Hybridizes with other Metriaclima/Maylandia species, so avoid keeping with closely related species if purity matters.

Origin and habitat

Maylandia estherae, the red zebra, is a rock-dwelling mbuna endemic to Lake Malawi, found along the eastern coast from around Metangula south to Narungu, with a stronghold at Minos Reef, in both Mozambican and Malawian waters. Konings described it in 1995 as Pseudotropheus estherae; its genus is unsettled, with most taxonomists using Maylandia and Konings and much of the hobby literature preferring Metriaclima. The species is strikingly polymorphic. Wild females are a drab beige to brown and males a bright blue, but at some sites red-orange females (the O morph) and blotched females (the OB morph) occur, and a white-pink O-morph male is found only at Minos Reef. The aquarium trade has bred preferentially for the orange form, so the fish sold as red zebra is now usually solid orange rather than barred or blue, despite the name. Females reach about 10 cm and males nearly 13 cm. It is a maternal mouthbrooder and a moderately aggressive mbuna, calmer than the likes of demasoni but still too territorial for a general community.

Breeding

A maternal mouthbrooder following the standard mbuna routine. A male holds a territory on a flat rock and courts females with sideways quivering displays, and spawning uses the egg-spot trick, the female taking up her eggs and then nipping at the spots on the male's anal fin so he releases sperm to fertilise the clutch she carries. She broods a clutch of roughly fifteen to thirty eggs for about three to four weeks without feeding, then releases formed fry that take crushed flake and spirulina at once. In a rocky mbuna tank a few fry survive in the crevices, and a healthy group breeds more or less continuously. The big caveat is hybridisation: red zebras cross readily with other zebra-type mbuna, so a single species per tank is the rule for keeping a line pure.

Common problems

Malawi bloat is the standard mbuna worry, best prevented by a vegetable-heavy diet and clean water rather than treated after the fact. Aggression is managed by stocking properly, one male to several females in a well-rocked tank, so the dominant fish cannot single anyone out. The other recurring issue is hybridisation and morph confusion: shops often sell a mix of orange, blue, and orange-blotched fish all as red zebra, some of which may be hybrids or other species, so anyone who cares about pure stock should buy from a specialist cichlid breeder. The fish will also cross with related zebra-type mbuna, including the cobalt blue zebra and, despite being a different genus, the yellow lab, so mixed tanks produce muddled fry.

Bioload

Further reading

• Stocking ideas by tank size