# Red Zebra variants



## MbunasandMapleleafs (Mar 23, 2004)

So I made my rounds to the LFS's today. Couldn't help but notice a huge difference in the coloration of red zebra juvies. 
Saw some that were about 1 1/2 " and just amazing super bright orange color. 
The ones I have are not much bigger but definitely pale in comparison, colorwise. 
Did I get an inferior line of zebras ?


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

MbunasandMapleleafs said:


> So I made my rounds to the LFS's today. Couldn't help but notice a huge difference in the coloration of red zebra juvies.
> Saw some that were about 1 1/2 " and just amazing super bright orange color.
> The ones I have are not much bigger but definitely pale in comparison, colorwise.
> Did I get an inferior line of zebras ?


They could have been juiced up with hormones by the breeder; if so, the colors will fade. It happens a lot with imported fish.


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## MbunasandMapleleafs (Mar 23, 2004)

so the light orange/pink color is the normal color ?


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

MbunasandMapleleafs said:


> so the light orange/pink color is the normal color ?


Mine colored up more as they grew, but were never anywhere near pink. Could be a hybrid of some sort.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

There's also a cherry red variant that is bred to get a deeper color.


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

MbunasandMapleleafs said:


> so the light orange/pink color is the normal color ?


I think so, yes. I had "Red Zebras" too, and they looked "Peach" color the more they grew.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

diet,lighting,genetics,and gender. All can be attributed to the variances you see. female Estherea are usually more deeply colored orange than the males,who often turn a sort of peachy/pinkish color. Maybe your lighting doesn't bring out the orange in our fish the way the LFS lights do. Maybe they are feeding their Red Zebras a food high in ingredients known to bring out those colors.Caratine as an example is one I've seen stated to help in those colors. I bet stress and heirarchy could also play a part,as it does in subdominant males in a tank. Of course it's possible you got a different line of breeding from the ones at the LFS,and it's possible some are victims of hormone treament,but there are at least a few possible ,natural reasons for the difference seen. I use New Life Spectrum as my staple food. It's all my fish eat. My Zebra females are very bright orange,but not the cherry red color seen in some lines. I guess somehow they have bred the fish to look that way.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I've also heard pond raised fish are very bright but lose some of the intensity indoors in our tanks.

Agree adult males are peach.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

I've actually noticed this too. For some reason,the pond raised fish are very colorful. I wonder if it's,some natural diet due to live insects,larger swimming space,since ponds do often hold more than our tanks,or even murkier water. I notice ponds for the most park have a murkier water,and I wonder if the fish just show more due to lack of clarity in the water


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Picture of a sexually mature 'O' type Minos Reef male M. Estherae. Tank bred.










Blue males are the standard there, then there's these O males that do occur naturally and 'they' line breed to produce pure orange males. The females should all be bright orange. Like the background fish in DJRansome's avatar. Finding the blue males is not easy. At least for me. The most dominant O male takes on the lightest color, in my experience. Almost white. It's pretty awesome. All tank bred, line bred stock. There's a picture from a book of a wild Estherae female. It's a gorgeous, glowing color. Wish I could show it here.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

I get tons of blue male offspring. I take them to my LFS for cash,or store credit.What I've experienced is my Blue male produces 99% blue males,1% OB,males,and 100% red females. Just one groups general numbers,but if you find a blue male,and breed him,you will likely get some blue males from his spawn. I have 3 juvies in the 125 right now,all blue. once they're big enough to actually catch..The lake has similar results,or so I've read. About 1% of wild males are Orange,and around 0.1% are Orange blotch.I saw some blueberry blotch variant online a year or so back. those were really nice looking. I have no clue how those were produced


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Can you send me some of your fry?


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Fish do vary A LOT in quality and purity. I don't think they hormone Red Zebras, no reason to bother. Feeding live shrimp makes the biggest difference. Yes, be very picky, orange Red Zebras do not "improve" with age and there is no super magic packaged fish food that improves genetics. Hybrids have been very common for decades.

Pond raised fish are nice orange because of live food and the outdoor sun helps, I believe. Outdoor Koi and Goldfish are brighter orange-red than indoor fish too.

The "Cherry Red Zebra" is largely just a marketing name, not an improvement. The F1 fish are as good as they get.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Can you send me some of your fry?


Are you being serious? I might need to be coached on shipping live fish,but I would be open to it. You wanting a baby blue male?


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## TNChris (Apr 11, 2017)

master chi said:


> I've actually noticed this too. For some reason,the pond raised fish are very colorful. I wonder if it's,some natural diet due to live insects,larger swimming space,since ponds do often hold more than our tanks,or even murkier water. I notice ponds for the most park have a murkier water,and I wonder if the fish just show more due to lack of clarity in the water


I'm pretty sure it is from the uv light of the sun compared to artificial lighting without uv.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

TNChris said:


> master chi said:
> 
> 
> > I've actually noticed this too. For some reason,the pond raised fish are very colorful. I wonder if it's,some natural diet due to live insects,larger swimming space,since ponds do often hold more than our tanks,or even murkier water. I notice ponds for the most park have a murkier water,and I wonder if the fish just show more due to lack of clarity in the water
> ...


Hmm? This makes me wonder if a vitamin D supplement will increase fish color then? Anyone try Vitamin D additives for cichlids?


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

You could always feed them hormone enhanced food!!! Lol, joking, I feed my guys NLS and live foods like mosquito larvae, damselfly larvae, tadpoles, small insects, worms etc. Although they aren't native to Lake Malawi, I assume that there's similar creatures they feed on in the wild. To make a long story short, my fish have excellent coloration.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I agree with TNChris. Having seen Leif Demason's red zebras straight out of the pond versus same fish on excellent diet months later. Tanning bed? Just kidding of course.


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## master chi (Jan 3, 2010)

Most lightbulbs do give off uv rays,but are then diffused inside the bulb. The UVB rays are responsible for helping us produce the vitamin D. Isn't it possible that the same thing is what is giving those fish it's enhanced color? What light comes from Tanning beds are 95% UVA,and 5% UVB. I know you were just kidding,but just in case some one tries the "BRIGHT" idead.LOL. They do make UVB lights. I may try this at some point after a fair amount of research. If it can help the fish color up,and not cause harm to them it will certainly be a great way to get your fish looking nice.

I already found some literature on the subject.

http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=4113


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

The UV fluorescent tubes for reptiles are good for certain distances from the fixture. Not sure how effective they are through water. And you'd lose everything through a glass canopy.


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## Jnm230 (May 30, 2016)

Have you seen a red zebra that is the color orange like female but has the blue fins like the male


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I haven't, no.


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