# Orange cichlid



## jennjenn137

Okay so I bought this guy who was in the wrong tank at the fish store to "save" it from its overbearing tank mate. I mixed it with my new batch of electric yellows, kenyi, red zebras, and a cobalt blue which was also being picked on that day. I cant get a good pic of it but it looks exactly like the one here http://www.dreamstime.com/orange-africa ... age3422806 Its fins and face are shaped more like the cobalt blue than the red zebras, so i am not sure if it is just a much larger zebra or if it is something completely different. It used to be regular orange but as it got bigger it is now a peachy color with reddish along the dorsal fin and tail tips. It also has 3 egg spots and a red pupil if that helps.


----------



## CICHLUDED

The fish in the link is a Metriaclima estheraeâ€¦(red zebra)

Here is a pic of my maleâ€¦


----------



## addicted2cichlid

like this? my male red zebra


----------



## jennjenn137

I guess so. Maybe this one is just a lot older than the 2 i got a week later. They have slightly pointier faces than the one in question. Do their faces round out as they grow? Also I read that they often turn blue as adult males, does that just refer to the fin or does the whole fish turn blue? And since mine is rimmed with red would that mean it is most likely a female since its not blue at all?


----------



## MalawiLover

The pointier faces may indicate some yellow lab mixed in. It is all to common a hybrid in the hobby. They tend to look mostly like red zebras, but with pointier lab facial structure. Many times they are ever mixed in with the red zebras.

The picture in your link is definitely a pure M. estherae (red zebra). You could post a pic of the other "zebras" to get some expert opinions on their purity.


----------



## bulldogg7

best pic I could find of mine, but is this what you're talking about?








Albino M. greshakei
She was never orange, but did get a little peachy colored as she got around 5inches.
I think the males get redder fins and a blue tint.


----------



## Joea

jennjenn137 said:


> Also I read that they often turn blue as adult males, does that just refer to the fin or does the whole fish turn blue? And since mine is rimmed with red would that mean it is most likely a female since its not blue at all?


Orange males will never turn blue. The orange in males is a line-bred trait in the hobby. All male _M. estherae_ in the wild are blue, except for the very rare exception of orange and OB. There are blue variants available in the hobby as well.

Orange _M. estherae _with blue tints in their fins have always proven to be male IME. However, I have had males without any blue in their fins, so it's not a sure-fire way to determine gender.


----------



## jennjenn137

Well thanks guys. I'm glad she is what I thought she was, I call her a she cuz I named her Princes Peach when she changed color and I don't think she would want to have a name like that as a guy... I would put pics up but my 4 year old dropped my digital camera and broke the lens so I have to save up for a new one. Any recommendations on one that will give me good fish pics :wink: Mixed with yellow lab sounds very possible for the others since they were all mixed together in the fish store. they look like the one here I guess, http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... l%26sa%3DN Sorry about all the linking, been doing lots of google searches.


----------



## 24Tropheus

That one looks like Metriaclima estherae to me.


----------

