The crucial point is the gender balance always keep the male in a harem with a minimum of 3 females per male. If you want to keep more than one male per tank, having an aquarium above 80 gallons with many rock caves and hiding places is recommended. Keeping a male with several females is a common practice to reduce harassment over just one female.

It would be best if you had a large volume aquarium, as well as keep many females. It is commonly kept in the same species tank. It has a certain degree of aggressiveness like most mbunas, but its hostility is more directed towards males of the same species and other fish of similar colors. Most fish that inhabit the upper part of the tank’s water column will not compete for territory with the Red Zebra Cichlid, making it a healthy choice. Red Zebra Cichlids usually inhabit the bottom of the aquarium, although they are present throughout the water column therefore, avoid keeping bottom fish. Avoid placing other fish territories that inhabit the middle zone. Red Zebras should be kept with other types of Mbuna of similar size, avoid more peaceful species, which will only passively suffer aggression.Ī technique widely used in African cichlid maintenance is tank overcrowding, making it difficult for the animals to form territory, dispersing, and reducing aggression between tank mates. The choice of tank mates is an essential step towards the success of an African cichlid aquarium due to its territoriality and aggressiveness.

For starters, a 48″ x 15″ x 12″ (35 gallons) aquarium with lots of hiding places can be used to house a trio as they are very active fish that live among the rocks, an essential factor is the width of the aquarium due to the hardscape. Tank sizeĮven though it is not one of the most aggressive mbuna, the tank space must be well dimensioned concerning the number of inhabitants due to territorialism. Like any other species, the Red Zebra Cichlid has its peculiarities, addressed and detailed in the following topics. It is a hardy fish that is easy to care for, but that doesn’t exclude knowing the species, habits, and behaviors in-depth. They feed mainly on algae and biofilm in the crystal clear, hard, and alkaline tropical waters of Lake Malawi.

They are one of the most common cichlids in the aquarium industry this success within the aquarium can be attributed to being an easily reared fish, presenting a wide range of color diversity, and being very resistant and easy-to-feed fish. The word Mbuna means “rockfish” in the native language of the traditional communities in that region.Ĭonsidered territorial fish, they show an aggressiveness in certain situations fights between males of this species are often violent. Mbuna are fish belonging to the haplochromine family that inhabits the rocky shores of Lake Malawi. It occurs along rocky coastlines and reef formations on the coasts of Mozambique and Malawi. Red Zebra Cichlid (Maylandia estherae) is a tropical freshwater cichlid species endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. Gourami Watcher, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Red Zebra Cichlid Species Summary

Red zebra cichlid scratching