# Cobalt blue and Red zebra's



## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

My LFS sold me 6 red and 2 cobalt blue zebra's . They were all labelled as Metriaclima Estherae . I'm new to cichlids and after some reading on this site i'm a bit worried about that mix and hybrids etc i realise now i got 2 metriaclima Callainos and 6 Estherae . Should i be worried about these 2 type's of fish crossbreeding ?

Thx in advance - as a newb and what i've read i really wanted to stay clear of crossbreeding .


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## cichfeeble (Jan 12, 2010)

I am sure there will be more experienced people chiming in, but my understanding is that there's not a "danger" of crossbreeding, except insomuch as you don't want to then distribute hybrid fry back into the community (i.e. giving them to other people as hybrids, either known or unknown to them as such), because it dilutes the strains.

So, what I hear people say is "As long as you don't keep the fry (i.e. leave mom in the tank and let the other fish eat the fry when they hatch) it's fine to have species that cross".


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

What makes you think you have two Metriaclima callainos and not two BLUE male Metriaclima estherae?


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

Well thats reassuring thankyou mate . I'm pretty sure i only have the one male red zebra . And the Cobalts i'm sure are female's . My LFS is really into his fish he can keep me chatting for hours and he seems to know his stuff and trustworthy , but you never know he has to make a living out of it at the end of the day . I dont have any plans to sell, pass on , or keep any fry . Its a new hobby for me but i'm taking the purist view .


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

Err Fogulhund you got me stumped now . My limited knowledge and google made me come to my conclusion hehehe :?


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

Hmm... it could go either way..

If they were both labled M. Estherae in the same tank then you might of got Zebras will blue males and red females. Which would be best case scenerio.

If there were cobalt zebras (m. callainos) and Red Zebras (m. Estherae) in the same tank labled M. Estherae then you might not want to go back to that LFS.

Post a pic of the blue fish.


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

I'll try and post a pic or two . I'm not that great with pic posting so bare with me . I might need a wee bit of help from you guys i'm on it though .

cheers


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

Use photobucket or whatever photo sharing site you use. Then once you upload it click the picture and click where it says IMG. Then hit Ctrl-C once it is highlighted. Come to this site and hit Ctrl-V to post it. Preview it before you submit to make sure it worked.


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

ok thx man . I've taken some pics they are downloading now . I got both the blue and the reds and you can see i used all natural quarry slate grey and rusty red . I'm quite prowd of my first malawi tank i hope you all like it also . Its basic stuff but the effect is quite good i think .

cheers


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

pics























q338/reds_album/Picture003.jpg[/IMG]


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

Pics are up lady's and gentlemen . Advice much appreciated .

Cheers


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

Our blue male estherae have bars that at times are faint but they are always evident.

Our Callainos do not show these bars. Also our male estherae has a very faint orange outline along the dorsal and tail fin. Not sure if this is just our zebras from inbreeding or others exhibit this also but our callainos have a faint blue border on their fins.


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

How big are these fish?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

While you guys decide if the males are blue male estherae or blue male callainos, I will add that the problem with letting the moms spit in the tank is that some survive. So if you have a crossbreeding risk in your tank and you aren't able to provide other tanks for any hybrids (8 year lifespan) then you might want to invest in a group of 5 synodontis multipunctatus to help with fry control.


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## TekgunnrUK (Jan 29, 2010)

the biggest fish i have is 1.5 " the rest are about an inch or so .


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The last one is a hybrid, not a pure estherae/red zebra anyway. Given this, and uncertainty over the rest, I wouldn't use these as breeding stock. My first few generations of Blue x Red Estherae, nobody had bars. It wasn't until they were F3 that I started seeings barring.


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