The adult females are typically yellow, orange, or orange with dark markings. “albino” strain- Albino color throughout the body, but this color morph is rare.Juvenile males look like females, and they develop a light blue shade when they reach about 2.5 inches. “red-red” strain- Adult males, are orange/red with no vertical bars.Juvenile males are dark brown, and juvenile females are pale pink. “red-blue” strain- Adult males are light blue with faint vertical bars and 4 to 7 blotches in the anal fin.There are mainly three main color morphs in male fish.
The coloration of male and female cichlids is very distinct. True Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlids are hard to find and pricey when available for purchase usually as juveniles between 1″ to 1-1/2″ or as young adults at 4″ – 5″.Red zebra cichlid male or female identification These foods can bloat and kill the fish, but an occasional treat of krill, plankton, or frozen brine shrimp will be eagerly accepted and should cause no harm. They should not be fed a constant diet of protein rich foods like live worms or live brine shrimp. They will eat flake foods, leafy seaweeds, Spirulina flakes, cichlid pellets and freeze dried or frozen foods. The entire brooding process is apparently very stressful for the female which is why most breeders remove the female to a separate brooding tank.Īdult Cobalt Blue Zebras are primarily vegetarians and need a vegetable based diet. The fry can be fed crushed flake food, daphnia or baby brine shrimp. Once the fry can take care of themselves, the female stops letting them into her mouth. During this period, she will usually not eat any food until the fry are able to fend for themselves. For up to a month, the fry will seek safety by rushing into the females mouth at any sign of danger. The female will keep the eggs in her mouth for about a week until they all hatch out. This process continues until she has between 10 to 50 fertilized eggs in her mouth. When the sperm reaches the female, the real eggs that she picked up in her mouth become fertilized. The female will nip at the egg like spots on the males anal fin, to stimulate him into releasing his sperm into the water. She will immediately pick the eggs up into her mouth, while the male displays the egg like spots (which are the same size and color as the real eggs) on his anal fin. When a female is ready to spawn, she will enter his territory and begin to aggressively interact with the male until she releases a couple of eggs into the gravel nest or on a flat rock. When the male is ready to breed, his colorsīecome enhanced and he will establish a territory in the tank. To achieve the best results, its best to keep one male with three or more females. The Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid is a maternal mouth brooder that build nests in the bottom substrate from small rocks when they are ready to breed. In a 75 to 100 gallon tank, a grouping of 10 or more mbunas is recommended to spread out aggressive behavior.
They are usually too aggressive to keep with Peacock Cichlids and Haplochromis. They are compatible with Auratus, Johanni, Kenyi, Lemon Yellow, Orange Blotch, Pindani, Red Zebra and only the Synodontis Catfish species. In general, because of their aggressiveness, Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlids should only be kept with other Mbunas. Many tropical fish keeping enthusiasts use a laterite based substrate to help maintain the necessary high pH and alkalinity required for keeping these cichlids, but clean water and proper pH are extremely important in maintaining healthy mbuna aquariums. Optimal conditions for keeping Metriaclima callainos is a water temperature of 75 to 80 degrees, and a pH balance as close to 9.0 as possible. Like all mbuna, Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlids enjoy having plants in their tank, but because they constantly rearrange the substrate will uproot them and eventually have them as part of their diet. They also need plenty of room for swimming, so a 55 gallon or larger tank is mandatory. There are several other African zebra color variations that include the Red or Cherry Zebra (which is colored red/orange), the Pearl Zebra (which is a pearl white color), and the Orange Blotch Zebra (OB), which has black blotches on a pink orange background.Ĭobalt Blue Zebra Cichlids are a long lived, relatively semi aggressive species, that do best in community aquariums with a dark sandy bottom, plenty of small loose rocks or gravel for burrowing, and enough rocks, caves, and tunnels for the fish to set up separate territories. Male Pearl Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid (Metriaclima callainos)
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