12/8/2022 0 Comments Red zebra cichlid mbunaThis, corroborated with other aspects of the fish’s behavior and environmental needs, ranks Mbuna cichlids as non-beginner-friendly. These species are notorious for their violent outbursts and propensity towards aggression, most of which comes from their need for territorial domination. While all cichlids are rather violent and territorial, it’s the Mbuna species that take things to the next level. They display an amazing color diversity, especially males and especially dominant males. These cichlids are different from their regular counterparts in appearance and overall behavior. Several species, actually, all contained within the Mbuna family. They had to adapt to their new habitat, and, over time, they formed a new species. Apparently, these species were separated from other cichlids when the lake was formed, causing the Mbuna cichlids to become stranded in an enclosed environment. The Mbuna is a large cichlid group describing cichlids that only reside in Lake Malawi. With this out of the way, let’s discuss Mbuna cichlids and see what makes these so different. Generally speaking, cichlids aren’t exactly the best species to introduce into a community tank for obvious reasons. Males, especially, are extremely territorial and display a strong sense of hierarchy. I am violence – Cichlids are notorious for their appetite for destruction.Some species protect the eggs until hatching, others even care for their young upon birth, while many others display mouthbrooding behavior. Parental care – All cichlids provide parental care to their young in some form or another.An official estimate pushes the number of potential cichlid species at over 3,000. Fortunately, there are a lot of species to account for, around 1,650 recognized and many others remaining to be discovered. Endangerment – The Cichlidae family contains the highest number of endangered species of all the vertebrate families, which is an impressive feat in and of itself.But before getting to that, what exactly are cichlids?Ĭichlids are a group of fish that belong to the Cichlidae family and are popular thanks to several interesting aspects. Today, we will discuss a fascinating family of fish – the Mbuna cichlids. Although to be fair, the latter category isn’t as bad as the first one. This is how you end up with piranha and cichlid lovers. And then you have a few that would like to see the world burn and get the meanest and most vicious fish they can find. Others like to focus on one species and prioritize the environment and aqua sculpture instead. Ad konings does a very good jon of explaining the different fish at Minos Reef - red zebras etc.Some people like to have colorful aquariums with a variety of fish species. Personal experiences in the aquarium however my white male has not bred AFAIK If you guys dont see any egg dummies on your redxred fish they are either a) not estherae, b) not red zebra or c) a crossbreed.ĭiving experience at Minos Reef, Chiloleo, Gome and Chiofu, where I watched breeding occur in the wild what the florida guys do is import a white male and breed it like crazy However most common in the petstore is "RedxRed" which was created if you remember above I said white male + orange female = orange males and female fry. So those fish you see in the hobby "red zebra" are probably metriaclima estherae IF there is a blue male and they have egg dummies on their dorsal. WHITE male + O female = ORANGE male, orange femaleīlue male + brown female = blue male, brown female So - the metriaclima estheraes know to stay away from Blue Reefs ( and not crossbreed).īlue Male + Orange Female = Blue male fry, orange female fry.īlue male + OB Female = Blue male fry, OB female fry. There is a COBALT blue zebra also at Minos Reef with brown females, (metriaclima zebra blue reef) this fish does NOT have egg dummies on it's dorsal. This is the only species of metriaclima (formerly pseudotropheus) that has egg dummies in a spot other than the anal fin. About 10km south of Minos reef you get yellower females, further still down near Chiofu you get brown females.Īll Estherae have yellow "egg spots" on the back of their dorsal fin. Males are blue, there are white ones too but they are rare. Red Zebra, aka Metriaclima Estherae is caught from Minos Reef, central eastern Lake Malawi. the estheraes were named after Esther Grant, wife of Stuart Grant one of the exporters from Lake Malawi (Kambiri Point,Salima) Red zebras are probably my favourite fish because of what I am about to explain. Soulfish pretty much summed it up but I can go into further detail.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |