# Metriaclima callainos OB Makonde (wild caught)



## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

I decided these guys deserve their own thread...

When I saw this picture I had to have them!









Believe it or not I actually got the dude in the pic above!
He is the largest male in the group, I purchased a group of 7, ratio 3m:4f.

These guys are amazing when the males color up most of the black blotches turn cobalt blue, the only black that remains is some remnants of broken bars.

Here is a short (crappy) video. The dude from the pic is the big guy in cave. Hope you like... 
http://i780.photobucket.com/albums/yy88 ... 8c9654.mp4


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

A female


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

What great looking fish! Love them. And looks like your male is on the hunt already. Keep me informed. Congrats on a wonderful group.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Sweet pickup. I really don't like OB fish, but these look really nice. Also, I did not know these callainos came in an OB, and I'm sure you could make a nice profit off their F1 fry. Good luck with the group!


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Stunning! Congrats.


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

cichlid-gal said:


> What great looking fish! Love them. And looks like your male is on the hunt already. Keep me informed. Congrats on a wonderful group.


Thanks Cichlid -gal! 
I'm amazed at how well adapted to tank life they are, I thought they would be trying to" get out" all day but they really settled in fast. The big male likes to cruise the tank to making sure every thing is copsectic.



Iggy Newcastle said:


> Sweet pickup. I really don't like OB fish, but these look really nice. Also, I did not know these callainos came in an OB, and I'm sure you could make a nice profit off their F1 fry. Good luck with the group!


Thanks Iggy,
Honestly I'm not a huge OB fan myself. The night before I purchased them I was looking through the profile section when I ran across the Metriaclima sp. zebra blue "blueberry" profile http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1464, I thought to myself "that is a cool fish"... Just by coincidence, the next day a buddy told me he was going to pick up some fish from this guy and to see if there was anything I wanted. I went on the site and there they were! They were actually sold as wild Metriaclima callainos OB "blueberry zebra" Maknonde. I left the blueberry part out of the post title because part of the name could be debatable? Although they look a hecka of a lot like the profile... Either way I had to have them. It was an impulse buy but i couldn't be happier!



GTZ said:


> Stunning! Congrats.


Thank you!


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

The "Blueberry" name has been used for more than one Mbuna, so it is confusing. At one time it was used for a small Zebra called "Zebra Slim" which has high rates of OB fish. The profile seems to refer to a 3rd fish... all confusing.

I think those are very cool. I don't why natural OB mbuna are not more popular anymore... they are an easy way to add diversity and color to a Mbuna community tank. Females that are interesting and dimorphic. And males can be very cool. But then people seem to go crazy over the "peacock" OB hybrids, except for the few exceptional males I find them to be boring.


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

noki said:


> The "Blueberry" name has been used for more than one Mbuna, so it is confusing. At one time it was used for a small Zebra called "Zebra Slim" which has high rates of OB fish. The profile seems to refer to a 3rd fish... all confusing.
> 
> I think those are very cool. I don't why natural OB mbuna are not more popular anymore... they are an easy way to add diversity and color to a Mbuna community tank. Females that are interesting and dimorphic. And males can be very cool. But then people seem to go crazy over the "peacock" OB hybrids, except for the few exceptional males I find them to be boring.


Thanks Noki. I agree the natural OB are far more interesting than the man made versions, not to mention far more rare in the hobby. Hopefully I will have great success with breeding them and will be able to make some F1 fry available to those who appreciate them...


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## ilm121209 (Jul 23, 2013)

he reminds me of the ob i got last month. beautifulllll fish, almost 5 inches. pinkish with blue shimmer on the tips of the scales. unfortunately the guy i got him from was feeding blood worms and he was sick from the day i got him... bloat is a b...... if you know what i mean. almost had it beat but he died after 3 weeks. if the breed id love to grab a male from you =)


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Sorry to hear that. The pic is obviously not the best but you can tell he was a looker. I'll keep you posted...


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