# cherry red red Zebras



## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

Which lake are they from and how easily do they breed


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The are a line bred version of Metriaclima estherae from Lake Malawi. They are fairly easy to breed, if you have an appropriate sized aquarium (4ft 55 gallon or larger), and at least three females for the male.


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

Right now I have a 37 gallon but I would like to try my luck at breeding them before I fork out the $ for a bigger tank so would this work one male three females and one catfish to help clean the tank?


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

ls5292 said:


> Right now I have a 37 gallon but I would like to try my luck at breeding them before I fork out the $ for a bigger tank so would this work one male three females and one catfish to help clean the tank?


 in the tank I have 1 cichlid stones one castle 2 volcanoes and about ten to fifteen plastic plants


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

What are the dimensions of this aquarium?


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

Fogelhund said:


> What are the dimensions of this aquarium?


foot print 30x12


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

It might work, but chances are it won't. Experienced breeders sometimes breed them in tanks with 36x18 footprints, but you would really be pushing it. You would also need a ton of rocks as well, not a couple of hiding spots and some plants. I certainly wouldn't recommend this fish in your tank.

Perhaps some Yellow Labs instead.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

They'll tend to stress the females in a tank less than 4' or so, and you'll have less luck breeding them because of that. I'd pick up a cheap 55 off craigslist if money is an issue, and find some landscape rocks to pile up - no need to buy anything fancy! You could breed a second or even third species in this tank.

You'll need the 37 to raise the fry large enough to sell/trade/reintroduce anyway.


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

brinkles said:


> They'll tend to stress the females in a tank less than 4' or so, and you'll have less luck breeding them because of that. I'd pick up a cheap 55 off craigslist if money is an issue, and find some landscape rocks to pile up - no need to buy anything fancy! You could breed a second or even third species in this tank.
> 
> You'll need the 37 to raise the fry large enough to sell/trade/reintroduce anyway.


If conditions are right how often will they breed and how many


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

If everybody's happy, each female will spawn every month or two. You can strip the eggs within days and tumble them, which is difficult but yields the most fry and allows the female to spawn again faster. I don't do this often, I strip the fry after 3 weeks or allow them to spit them out after a month. At this point they're thin, and take awhile to spawn again. I think I got about 30 from m. estherae when I had them.

The fry will grow quickly if you do frequent, large water changes and feed them often.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Fogelhund's suggestion of yellow labs is a good one - they're much less aggressive, and always in demand! It's hard to find a good line, though.


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

ls5292 said:


> brinkles said:
> 
> 
> > They'll tend to stress the females in a tank less than 4' or so, and you'll have less luck breeding them because of that. I'd pick up a cheap 55 off craigslist if money is an issue, and find some landscape rocks to pile up - no need to buy anything fancy! You could breed a second or even third species in this tank.
> ...


If I had a 60 gallon tank could I use the one inch per gallon rule


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

The one inch per gallon rule is for tetras and other little fish - you can keep 60 1" red zebra fry in it, but not 6 10" fish.

People want variety, so they tend to keep 1m/3-4f of 3-4 species in a 4' tank. You could keep 3m/9-12f red zebras in the 60, if it's 4' long.

The 4' tank recommendation is due to the fish being territorial, not because of the fish's size. African cichlids are tricky to keep because of this behavior.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Red zebras get about 5" btw, and are more aggressive than average.


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

brinkles said:


> The one inch per gallon rule is for tetras and other little fish - you can keep 60 1" red zebra fry in it, but not 6 10" fish.
> 
> People want variety, so they tend to keep 1m/3-4f of 3-4 species in a 4' tank. You could keep 3m/9-12f red zebras in the 60, if it's 4' long.
> 
> The 4' tank recommendation is due to the fish being territorial, not because of the fish's size. African cichlids are tricky to keep because of this behavior.


so I could have 3 different kinds (1 male and 3-4 females of each kind)


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## purpleymarshmellow (Jan 25, 2012)

brinkles said:


> Red zebras get about 5" btw, and are more aggressive than average.


5"? wow. Thats a big cichlid


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

In a 30" tank maybe one species of a dwarf, peaceful mbuna or peacock. You would need a 48" tank for three species.


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## Ms.Chris (Jan 20, 2012)

I have what appears to be 2 female zebras, 1 male zebra and a maindango, I have ordered a ruby peacock and a venestus does anyone think this will work in a 42 tank its a tall tank not wide. :-? :-? :-? :-?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Ms.Chris said:


> I have what appears to be 2 female zebras, 1 male zebra and a maindango, I have ordered a ruby peacock and a venestus does anyone think this will work in a 42 tank its a tall tank not wide. :-? :-? :-? :-?


Not a chance. The venestus is a fish that grows to 10", and needs a 6ft long tank. The others should all be in 48" long tanks.


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## Ms.Chris (Jan 20, 2012)

If a venestus wont work, how about a transcriptus or can u suggest anything that will go well with red zebras and peacocks?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Ms.Chris said:


> If a venestus wont work, how about a transcriptus or can u suggest anything that will go well with red zebras and peacocks?


You might want to start a new post so as not to hyjack the OP's thread. Include the dimensions of the tank and the inhabitants you already have.


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## ls5292 (Jan 24, 2012)

so would this work 1 male to 4 females for each kind Aulonocara baenschi, red Zebra "cherry red" an electric blue, and three or four catfish in a 55 gal or 75 gal?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You would not want to combine the zebra and the peacock. If you mean fryeri when you say electric blue, they tend to crossbreed with peacocks.

If you have a Metriaclima estherae (red zebra) and a 55G rectangle with a footprint of 48" x 12" you could stock 1m:4f and two other mbuna species. Cynotilapia sp. hara 1m:4f and Iodotropheus sprengerae 1m:4f would work.


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