# Rusty females?? Or not?



## CraGunner

I don't consider myself one of the 'experts' around here, but that doesn't look like a Rusty to me. Sorry mate. I have 8 Rusties in my tank, and they never looked like that. That looks like a Zebra or something. Again, not an 'expert', but the mixed Mbuna tank at the LFS is a risky way to go about it. There's no telling what is in that tank.

As for keeping actual Rusties with actual Labs... I guess you should probably let us all know what your goals are with the fry? Labs and Rusties will probably co-exist just fine together, and in my experience the fish will tend to mate with partners of the same species, if available, even in multi-species tanks, but that's not a guarantee. If you are looking at selling your fry you should probably start with some fish from a respectable online breeder, where you know exactly what you are getting. I doubt you'll find many buyers for dubious hybrid babies.


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## CraGunner

LunarValkyrie said:


> Or should I trade these in and go for some Labs from ??whom?? :-?


Take a look at the site sponsors/retailer reviews section of the forum. There are several great dealers out there. And you can send me a private message if you want my personal recommendation (we're not supposed to talk about the retailers on the forum... :wink: )

My two cents is you'll probably be happier in the long run if you can take those fish back to your LFS and start with some fish that are more readily identified. Good luck!


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## Kanorin

Those do not like rusties to my eye, at least not pure rusties. And the fry definitely appear to have a mixed background as well.
As a general rule, any holding female that's coming from a mixed tank at a petshop will have a high % to be holding hybrid babies. That's because petshops don't really think about crossbreeding - they are hoping the fish will get sold before they have time to breed.


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## LunarValkyrie

Ok, folks. I know they are from the lower class, but I just thought maybe you could verify my new info. I went back to the store today to get some Stress coat. A guy that is apparently a big African person (according to the owner) was there and he showed me a male to go with my girls. He seemed to think they were Red Top Ice Blue Zebra females. There are several still in that tank so I had shown him what mine looked like. The male he showed me had a little striping, but he had a reddish line on the outside of his dorsal and he has several egg spots on his anal fin. I brought him home. Now that he is not covered in other males...WoW! He has a very nice red dorsal and he is dancing for the girls over a flat top log. I found the below pix online and they show you really exactly what my fish look like. I haven't found any fry pix yet, but I am still scouring the net and youtube.

I realize for you folks, these are not Class A types, but I really just want to know if I can do it with my water system and all. I have kept central Am for years and years but they are not as picky as these. I got blessed with fry right off and learned to strip fry from this. The store has a tank they keep trades in, for people that just want something different, so she told me if I raise the fry, she will take them in for store credit. My true goal is to get some really nice Electric Yellow Labs and build a harem and breed them. I selectively breed my Amatitlania Sajica's and hope to apply that strategy to these. My Angels are kinda on auto pilot so I wanted to expand my ability to Africans. I appreciate any and all knowledge I can get as long as I am not condemned like I was on another forum. This is a new adventure for me and I want to enjoy it, but I want to do it right.

Anyway, here are the shots I found online that match my fish. You tell me if you think they might be and if they fry produced might be along this line. I found these and noticed the spot on the side at the base of the fins. Its a black spot with a white dot in the middle. Metraclima Greshakei is I think the name that goes with these.
Female




Male


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## DJRansome

Nothing wrong with keeping learning and enjoying your fish. Just don't sell them or give them away.

I will move this to Unidentified for an ID on your new pictures.


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## RayMontana

So what is that male? I have two of them, in separate tanks.


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## noki

Seems like something is missing here but low grade M. greshakei "Red Top Zebra" type are very common in unnamed tanks, also sold as "Ice Blue" in recent years ... some may be hybrids or just poorly bred so they hard to ID for sure, but those are the fish above more or less. Females are dull blue grey brown with a rusty reddish dorsal and tail, pure males are excellent A list mbuna.


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## LunarValkyrie

Yes, my original post is missing. I bought these fish as a first time attempt to try Africans. I got them from a tank labelled "Assorted".(plz be kind) I have bred/raised Amatitlania Sajica's and Angels for several years and decided to try these. I got 2 females (I hoped) and after getting home, realized one was holding. I placed her in a breeder box and went to bed......next morning I had 11 cute little babies. I thought they were Rusty's, but after digging on the net and talking to a cichlid person in the store today, I am thinking they are Red Top Ice Blue Zebra. But do the babies look like that? I can't seem to find close up shots of the fry anywhere. I know she was in an assortment and could have bred in that tank, but the babies were older. They are fully formed, eating, swimming fry. They look huge to me after what I have been raising. Any info would be greatly appreciated. I posted these on another forum and got eaten alive and basically talked to like I had killed the Queen's first born. So I decided to come here and take one last chance. :fish:

My fry in a Marina breeder box with a bit of sand in the bottom. 


My Female that was holding (both look alike) And today I got the male with lots of egg spots and a nice red color on his fins.


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