# Metriaclima estherae. Various morphs I currently own.



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I've always been fascinated with Metriaclima estherae. The various morphs and colours that are available in the same species/collection location is very interesting. I've been playing with some for about five years now, and enjoy them a great deal. A good friend accidentally bred some albino OB's, of which I have a few. Currently I have two blue males, five red females, one OB red female, four albino OB males and two albino OB females. The albinos are housed separately from the regulars.

So, here are a few of my current Metriaclima estherae.

*Dominant Blue Male*










*One of the "red" females*










*OB red female*










*Dominant Albino OB male*

Note, the subdominant males are coloured more like a female... in some ways they are nicer than a dominant male, though the dominant male is quite iridescent.










*Two pictures of an Albino OB female*


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

That albino ob female is stunning. I have never seen it before.
I too am partial to the morphs of this species of fish. They are a great experience.
I have kept the blue, red, ob red, and albino.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Are the albino OB's a natural occurance or are they a manmade fish?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

why_spyder said:


> Are the albino OB's a natural occurance or are they a manmade fish?


Well, they weren't a hybrid if that is your question. They just kind of happened, from a friends F1 group.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Fogelhund said:


> Well, they weren't a hybrid if that is your question. They just kind of happened, from a friends F1 group.


So I would consider them a "natural occurance" then - they could happen in the wild.

Gorgeous fish by the way. Almost convinces me to get some Met. estherae..... almost. :lol:

:thumb:


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## bossfish (Jun 1, 2005)

great fish!


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## colinrobinson (Nov 15, 2007)

These are very stunning fish! What other species are they kept with? and tank size?

Thanks, 
Colin


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## Terrence23 (Oct 2, 2008)

I actually like your big blue male the best. Awesome specimen!

Do you have any of the blueberry morph colored Estherae? Those are exotic looking but I rarely see them for sale.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

colinrobinson said:


> These are very stunning fish!


Even nicer in person! :thumb:

Hmmmmm...I see those OB males are outnumbering the females. One of the boys would look really nice in the tank that I'm going all male with...


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## CichlidMan81 (Oct 24, 2006)

I have a few questions.
I saw in the profile that they have an O morph. How is this morph created?
If 2 reds are breed together will they produce blues? If so can blues breed together to produce more blues or is it with EBD's were the gene is to weak and you have to breed back and fourth generations. Thanks


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

CichlidMan81 said:


> If 2 reds are breed together will they produce blues?


They can, but not all that often. I only one of one case. A friend of mine had some and they threw a blue male. There were purchased from a highly reputable and well known source. It's the only one I know of. They were/are a nice looking group.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Terrence23 said:


> I actually like your big blue male the best. Awesome specimen!
> 
> Do you have any of the blueberry morph colored Estherae? Those are exotic looking but I rarely see them for sale.


The fish often called blueberry, should be Metriaclima callainos, not estherae.

Thanks for the comments.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

CichlidMan81 said:


> I have a few questions.
> I saw in the profile that they have an O morph. How is this morph created?
> If 2 reds are breed together will they produce blues? If so can blues breed together to produce more blues or is it with EBD's were the gene is to weak and you have to breed back and fourth generations. Thanks


From the library...



> While this fish is found in a number of locales in Lake Malawi, it is principally collected from Minos Reef for the aquarium trade. The majority of the males at this location are a bright blue colour, with a hint of barring at times. There are also Orange/Red males at this location, though Ad Konings suggests this is only about 1% of the population. In addition to the Blue and Orange Males, there are OB males. Ad Konings has only ever seen one in all of his dives at Minos Reef, and suggests that this colour represents only about 0.1% of the natural population of estherae at Minos Reef.
> 
> Most of the females are Orange/Red in colour. There are also OB females, and while they are more plentiful then the males, they still only represent about 2-5% of the natural population.


Hope that answers your question, but yes, if you have a blue male the fry will usually be blue males, and red females, assuming the female is from the natural blue male/red female strain.


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

What a great collection of estherae. I've never been an OB fan before but that female has changed my mind!


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## CichlidMan81 (Oct 24, 2006)

thanks for the info. are they WC, F1 etc. They all look amazing


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

CichlidMan81 said:


> thanks for the info. are they WC, F1 etc. They all look amazing


The blue male and red females are F2. The OB and albinos would be considered tank raised.


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## CichlidMan81 (Oct 24, 2006)

thanks are OB and albino's hard to come by. I don't recall seeing them around.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

CichlidMan81 said:


> thanks are OB and albino's hard to come by. I don't recall seeing them around.


There are some OB's around, but not that orange. The albino's will be pretty hard to come by.


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## medinabob (Nov 12, 2006)

Thanks for sharing the pics. These are one of my favorite fish...The OB Albino females are the most "AWESOME" fish I've seen in a while...hopefully the will become available sometime in the future on a regular basis! :thumb: Thanks, medinabob


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