# New Arrivals - Blue RZ, L. Mbamba, Spotted Pleco!



## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

My order of fish from Texas came this morning! I finally have the stock I need to fill my tank... they just need to grow up first!

First up, the shipment came very well packed:









The Metriaclima estharae Minos Reef Red Zebras - Females (F1):









Metriaclima estharae Minos Reef Red Zebras - Male F1 (Blue!) and Female F1:









The Labidochromis sp. 'Mbamba' (1 male, 5 female):









And lastly, the Ancistrus sp. L349 Peru 'Slender Spotted Bristlenose' Plecostomus:

























The male Metriaclima estharae Minos Reef Red Zebra (middle left):









Everyone except the Pleco is in the grow out tank with my Cyno Lions and getting along well. The females are amazing looking! Orange bodies with light blue fins. Much nicer looking than the zebras from my LFS.

After adding the pleco to my 60g and changing out 60% of the water, my normally quiet and calm tank got all fired up! I've had the labs, red top afras, and eurekas in there for a few weeks now, and nobody has been aggressive or shown signs of breeding. DURING the water change the labs get real excited and now there is a lot of mating behavior going on... and my largest lab has a noticeably swollen vent area. I'm hoping she's holding by the end of the day!

I'll add better picks of the fish in the grow out tank as I get them... it's extremely hard to photograph these fish with a cell phone.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Before someone comments on my grow out decorations... I've had 5 Cyno Lions in there for a couple of weeks and the largest was JUST starting to get a hole dug under the old decorations and was beginning to chase other fish away.. so I decided it was time for a change of scenery when I added the new fish. The only other thing I had was mugs from the kitchen... so in they went! There is 5 of them, all facing away from the center of the tank, and they seems to like the idea.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Getting new fish is always fun!


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## denmck (Mar 22, 2013)

I think this is a fun idea for your grow out tank! I'm sure the fish will enjoy having their colorful caves. :wink:


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

So awesome to get a "blue" Red zebra male....you will love that combination...the blue male and red/orange females....wow! I love getting new fish too. Keep us posted as they grow...that's half the fun too...


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

That's my plan! I want to post pics from their current 1.5-2" state up to adults and all the stages in between. The red males are so common... that's all I see at every store. As soon as I saw the F1 blue males for sale I just HAD to have one! It will add a bit more diversity to my take as well.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Here are what the Mbamba look like at 1.5-2":










And one of the Red Zebra females:










I'm finding it very difficult to get any kind of good photos of them so far. I'll keep trying.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

My least likely camera turned out to be the best at taking pictures of fish:


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

I managed to take a short video of these guys tonight. They were (and always are) very cooperative. Try 720p or 1080p fullscreen. Enjoy!


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## IanR29 (Dec 13, 2012)

<vendor name removed> got good fish, you'll enjoy them. Just received my Rusties, trewavasae, calvus and ocellatus (different tank) from him.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

These guys have graduated to their new tank!

You can check out the build thread for their new tank if you like, or just watch their introduction to their new home:


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

My male Metriaclima estharae is beginning to change color. His fins and sometimes his cheeks are blue now. Can't wait till he's fully blue! I had a female M. estharae that was holding, but is not the Blue x Red variety. She is done holding now and was recently put into the tank. I think she might have kick started his mating mode. He's definitely more interested in her than the others. Which is just fine.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Just an update for anyone that cares to see the progression that a few months can make...

My Metriaclima estharae (Blue X Red) zebras have matured, especially the male. The tank currently holds the 4 original BxR group plus one of my original Red Zebras that I got from an LFS. Sometime today the male finally managed to convince the non-BxR female to get it on. The results should be interesting! It's not really what I wanted to happen first, I wanted some F2 zebras, but I'll take it. I still have the 9 juveniles she had from her last batch in a grow tank.. they're about 1.5 inches or so now.

Updated photos:


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

For those of you that want to know what happens when your pleco disappears for 2 weeks:










Very disappointing. This was a gorgeous fish.. and one day it was just gone. Poof.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Here's a quick video of the tank and the fish... I'll try to get some shots of the Mbamba next.. They're beautiful when fired up... unfortunately I think I ended up wtih 4 males and 2 females, so they're fired up alot recently...


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Got a somewhat decent photo of the male Metriaclima estherae the other day:










And some of the L. sp. "Mbamba":



















I've since removed this male Mbamba. I have others, possible 3 others, and some of them have better looking bars on them. The secondary alpha male spent no time before taking over the tank, or at least the other Mbamba's. I have some video of him I might post tomorrow.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Nice pictures and great looking fish.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

:thumb:


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks.

Aside from the displaced barring on the former alpha Mbamba, there is just something wrong with his face... he doesn't look like the others do and he arrives a bit damaged. One of his pectoral fins was decimated and he had a wound on his side. Both of those problems healed fine, but he face.. his mouth just looked a bit deformed. When I can get a better shot of the new alpha you'll see what I mean.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I think it's apparent in the 2ND photo of him.


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## Demigod (Mar 22, 2013)

Maybe he got squished somehow as a fry.. or his jaw was busted and healed and his face stopped growing.. it's like he's missing his lips compared to the others. If they were all like that I would question their pureness, but all of the others look great.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Ahhh... nature.

On another note: not sure if you read any more of that 'pelvic egg spot' thread but I found out your red zebra is a female. The one you were not sure about.


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