# What kind of Zebra?



## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

Hi,

Could anyone id the two fish? I have 4 of each. I think the first one is a red top but not sure of the second one. Both of them do bar up.


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

here are the pictures


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

the first pic look likes a male Metriaclima greshakei (Red Top Zebra), the second pic looks like a female of the same species


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## MCKP (Aug 17, 2009)

I would say the same thing... looks like a Greshakei Male and either female or sub dom male.....


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

I got four of the ones in the 2nd picture first. It was house with yellow labs and demasnoi but never colored up nor showed any blue. Do that mean their females? or still could be a subdom. male? They are all about 2.5-3"


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

That would definitely lead me to believe they are female. Male zebras are not shy about coloring up so if you had any males at least one should have been showing something.

In your original post you said you had 4 of each. With the very high aggression levels this species (all the zebras really) shows you will likely have a major bloodbath on your hands in the near future. You should have only one male and the 4 females. You don't mention your tank size but these guys need a 4ft tank, preferably a 75 or 90 gallon to be done successfully once they hit sexual maturity (which is a good time before full adult size)


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## MCKP (Aug 17, 2009)

Do you have the first pictured one too?? When I had my subdom male, he looked alot like the bottom one - now, once I separated him, BOOM.... color!


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

I have a 60g 48x16 foot print. Shouldn't the top fin be the same color on males and females?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

mnguyen said:


> I have a 60g 48x16 foot print.


That might work, just be prepared for things to turn for the worse as they mature.



> Shouldn't the top fin be the same color on males and females?


Nope, in this species some females have a reddish tone to their dorsal, but often its just the drab browny-gray color of the body. Yours show a bit of red tint. If you look at the "female" pic in the profile of Metriaclima greshakei you can see that yours match (its the 8th pic in the drop down).


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

One more question, do females show bars and become lighter sometimes?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

mnguyen said:


> One more question, do females show bars and become lighter sometimes?


Yes, females can chane their coloration as well depending on mood and emotional state. They don't get anywhere near as flashy as the boys, but they can definitely show bars and get darker or lighter.


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

I saw two female fight and then one of them turned white for the first time. Should I still consider these two females?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

If their mood dictates it female are completely capable of attaininmg full male coloration, though they usually fade right out once the emotional moment is over.

Can you put up a picture of this fish?


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

I will try to post pics tonight.


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

Here are the two that were it head to head.

This is the one that turned white for a couple seconds.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Looks like a sub-dom male. There is a lot of point to those anal and dorsal fins


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

I have 8 of these guys, 4 with red dorsals and 4 with darker dorsals. One of my darker dorsal is a male? Now I have 5 males and 3 females? Could any of the red dorsals be a female? There is no agression yet but they are only 2"-3".


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

How dio you know the other 4 are all males?


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

So the ones with red dorsals may be females? I know two are males from the frequent color change.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Females can have a good bit of red in their dorsals. Maybe the best thing would be for you to post of pic of each fish. we can help work out who's who


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

Here are all of them.

1.









2.









3.









4.









5.









6.









7.









8.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

to me it looks like
1 Male
2 Male
3 female
4 ??
5 male (but not 100% sure)
6 female
7 female
8 female


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

Thanks for do that. Can you tell me the reasoning behind your decision? Is it based on color and the pointiness of the dorsal/anal fins? Also can this to used on other species like yellow labs?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

I am basing most of it off of dorsal/anal fin elongation and pointy-ness, combines with the clarity of the eggs spots. While females will have eggs spots like the male, they tend to be less vibrant in color and sometimes a little fuzzy edged. Plus a little bit of gut feeling based on previous experience. Sometimes a fish will just look more female than others of her species that are the same age, but that part is hard to explain.

in general these principles would apply to most aftricans, though it is often very subtle and there are always some exceptions.

The monomorphic species (where males and females are identical) it can be a bit harder. Personally I have the darnedest time with labs, but in comparison, I have gotten really good at Ps. socolofi. I have personally had both species for a long time and still have trouble with my labs


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## mnguyen (Aug 13, 2009)

Do you think I can get away with 2 males to 6 females in my tank? Thinking of trading in for some albinos.


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