# New Maison Reef Male



## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

I've kept a lot of fish over the years but the Maison Reef Zebra is close to the top. This is a male around 4.5 inches that I bought recently and will introduce with my females in the near future. When I bought my first Maison's, I was hoping that I would get a male with lots of masking...I didn't get one but they all still turned out nicely. This male has the masking and black cheeks that desired and I have to say I'm quite happy with him.


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## Kleovoulos (Jan 6, 2011)

amazing fish!!


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

He's an outstanding fish! Very nice photos too. Look forward to seeing him with the girls. Wonder how great he will look when the girls start releasing pheromones?


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## macboobs (Apr 13, 2015)

Wow. Saw your pics and instantly went researching this fish. Sadly not quite suited for my proposed set up.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Always been a big fan of the zebra variants... some of the nicest mbuna around. This one is no exception. I'm thinking of a group of Chilumba Bay zebras myself.


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## LostInWestTexas (Apr 14, 2015)

He is gorgeous! I'm trying to come up with a list of possible fish for my tank, and the Maison's are on it. Very pretty.


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Fogelhund said:


> Always been a big fan of the zebra variants... some of the nicest mbuna around. This one is no exception. I'm thinking of a group of Chilumba Bay zebras myself.


Yeah they are hard to beat...I have some Luwino reef at the moment too and they are just exceptional. I have a weakness for all the blue & black mbuna...so hard for me to pass up on any when I see them lol.


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Razzo said:


> He's an outstanding fish! Very nice photos too. Look forward to seeing him with the girls. Wonder how great he will look when the girls start releasing pheromones?


Forsure...I'm going to move my large and older Maison to make way for this guy. My older Maison doesn't show any interest in the females anymore, so its time for some new blood


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I picked up some wildcaught zebroides Nkhata Bay earlier this year too... what a stunning little fish.


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Fogelhund said:


> I picked up some wildcaught zebroides Nkhata Bay earlier this year too... what a stunning little fish.


Those are real nice


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

:drooling:

Awesome looking!


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Marconi said:


> Fogelhund said:
> 
> 
> > Always been a big fan of the zebra variants... some of the nicest mbuna around. This one is no exception. I'm thinking of a group of Chilumba Bay zebras myself.
> ...


I've always thought of the black and blue zebra/afra Mbuna where males turn on their barring with dominance, as the classic Mbuna. They certainly stand out in pictures from the lake. They are very cool looking and few other non Malawi cichlids color up in the same dramatic fashion.

I think they are very rewarding and interesting for the hobbyist to observe, as they are variable. Those who want an all color all the time set up miss out.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

These just showed up on a price list yesterday.... Looks like in quantity as well. Pretty tempting. Could all be spoken for at this point, who knows...


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> These just showed up on a price list yesterday.... Looks like in quantity as well. Pretty tempting. Could all be spoken for at this point, who knows...


I think you need to buy some...show fish bigtime


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Yea.... still available actually. I'd have to grow them up firat and the only spot I have afterwards would be a 125. It currently houses some young Pyrsonotos and I'm not really interested in parting ways with them. I need a basement!


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## rufretic (Mar 30, 2015)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Yea.... still available actually. I'd have to grow them up firat and the only spot I have afterwards would be a 125. It currently houses some young Pyrsonotos and I'm not really interested in parting ways with them. I need a basement!


If you do decide to part ways with the pyrsonotos, I'd gladly take them  I'm serious, I've been trying to find them for a while now.

Marconi, beautiful fish! In your experience with these guys, what size do they tend to be when they get that bold black marking? I recently acquired a wild caught that's about 5" and I'm a little disappointed he doesn't have the nice dark barring. I'm not sure if it's a quality issue or if he just isn't dominant or developed enough. He's got the correct markings, they are just much more faded out looking than yours and most pictures I've seen. BTW, your videos are the reason I got this guy ;-)


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## Marconi (Oct 7, 2013)

rufretic said:


> Iggy Newcastle said:
> 
> 
> > Yea.... still available actually. I'd have to grow them up firat and the only spot I have afterwards would be a 125. It currently houses some young Pyrsonotos and I'm not really interested in parting ways with them. I need a basement!
> ...


I'm happy they inspired you  At 5 inches the bars should be full...maybe its a dominance issue...pull out a couple of the rougher tank mates and re-introduce once your guy has taken claim...I've had to do this lately with a bunch of fish that I'm keeping and I did it with the maison in the pic (my females were larger and gave him a real hard time).


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## rufretic (Mar 30, 2015)

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, 5" is pretty good size. I doubt it's dominance though, the guy I bought it from only got rid of him because he was beating up all his tank mates. I'm guessing it's a quality issue :-(


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

rufretic said:


> Yeah, that's what I was thinking, 5" is pretty good size. I doubt it's dominance though, the guy I bought it from only got rid of him because he was beating up all his tank mates. I'm guessing it's a quality issue :-(


Recent GCCA ad?


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