So I'm having yet another thought on this tank. I know Zebras are pretty aggressive, but I love their color and I love their look. I wont even attempt it if ya's all think they would be to aggressive for my tank.

For any who don't know or don't remember....I have a 55g tank, so far the tank has 5 yellow labs, 6 juvie Acei's, 1 ahli, and 9 albino socofis (ms). They will be weeded down to 1m/3fm each. I plan to add a set of Rusty's and a set of Afro's. One of which I will not get if I end up getting the zebras. Oh, and 2 peacocks a lemon Jacob and a ruby red.

What type of zebra? There are many Mbuna named Zebra.

Metriaclima callainos

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=787

Metriaclima estherae

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=791

Metriaclima estherae (Red)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1730

I love the OB's also, I was thinking if I could the reds and the OBs or can I not mix them??? Like a male OB with 2 fm reds???

So, I was thinking if they would work.....if I go with the reds I would get the Afros, if I get the blue I would get the Rusty's. I would have lots of color in the tank this way, then adding the german or ruby red and the Lemon Jacob will compliment them even more...so what do ya'll think??

As I said if they wont work, well I would be happy with my orginal plans (I think).

I am really liking the thought of the OB male w/ red females though...I'm not to worried about the cross breeding (as mean as it may sound) the babies would end up as food most likely and not survive anyway...just being realistic here, any that survive I would just keep anyway. Then the Afros I the ones that start with a "N"..with lots of yellow on top...although there are others I found that have orange on top (can't remember what they were called though).

Well out of the three the Cobalt Zebras are probabally the mildest and would be most likely to work esp if you get em small. The Red Zebras are nice too but what I have found with them is they are less aggressive with tank mates that are more aggressive. They can byully less aggressive species around....You might be ok if you add them after the tank territory is already established. I have four OB zebras and they are a bit less aggressive than the regular reds. You could always get the blues and the reds....If you do go with zebras I would skip the rusties or the rusties might get harrassed too much to display proper behavior, color etc.

Hmmm, well if I skip the rusties..would it still be ok to get the Afros? If I go with reds and blues what kind of ratio would you recomend? What if I wanted to add the OB...I'm just kinda confused I spose.

Without the rusties it would probabally work out and yes the OB would be ok too.

Cool, I think that is what I will do then. I love the rusties...but I've had a zebra before (a long time ago and a long story) I just loved him, so I really think I'd love having a small group of em.

They are fun I love my Zebras!

Found these on aquabid LG!

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwcichlidsmmb&1238868171

If I had a tank to grow them out I would jump all over this deal. In fact I may just bid on them if you don't I can find room somewhere.

OMG!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooo getting them! Just did the "buy now" option! THANK YOU PAUL!!!!!!!!!!!! :kiss2:

Your welcome LG!

Did you get your fish yet LG?

i only see one problem to this guys!if you look she said she wants to keep 1 male and 3 females.i would not recommend this all in the same tank.you can keep all males and the aggresion will be curved and they should be ok.when you put females in they are for sure going to stepup the aggresion to the point of fighting to the death with females in it.i say this from experience.if you go with all males you will be ok more than likely but if you add females to the mix you are asking for trouble.so to make a long story short if you want to breed them or have females with them each group of zebras need to be in there own tank for sure!!!!!

There is no problem keeping that ratio in a mixed Mbuna tank.

in my 30 years of breeding in a mixed mubuna tank when females are added aggresion increases 10 fold!

detroitfish wrote:

if you go with all males you will be ok more than likely but if you add females to the mix you are asking for trouble.so to make a long story short if you want to breed them or have females with them each group of zebras need to be in there own tank for sure!!!!![/

I mainly disagree with this but I do see where you are coming from. First you need an adequate size tank....next all male tanks in my experience are way more aggressive...with females present they are constantly trying to breed. I keep Red Zebras and Grasheki together along with about 30-40 other Mbuna in a 120g..I have two Kenyi females holding along with one Red and two female grasheki at the moment. I have never in five years had anything but an over abundance of fry roaming around. No deaths and I have never removed a female. Giving them a larger tank and overstocking is key and 3-4 feamles to 1 male is a solid stock plan if you are planning to breed Mbuna.

I have had all male tanks work out but for the most part they become death tanks and the more dominant males rule the tank and stress the others too much which quickly takes the fun out of the hobby. If you are experienced I would recommend an all male tank but for someone just getting into Mbuna I would not recommend and all male tank.

shes talking a 55 not 120 and why would you want to mix your tank if your going to breed 90 percent of mubunas will cross breed resulting in hybrids hardly anyone wants! just wondering

You will definately have better success breeding with a larger tank but it is still possible in a 55g. Given a 3-4f/1m ratio it is unlikely that you are going to have cross breeding. If there is the same species of male and female the male is going to stick to his own kind. Cross breeding occurs when you have a mixed tank with several males and only a few females. If a male of one species has 3-4 females to go after he is not going to go for another species of female.

ive never seen that in my 30 years a mixed tank is going to get cross breed fish no matter the ratio!

Sorry haven't been around for a few days. Anyway, just wanted to pop in and update quick while I can....I should be getting them (the afros) tomorrow!!!!

I am not going to get into the debat, except to say...from everything I've read and been told in having a mixed tank it seems to me a 1m-3/4 fm would be the best way to go. I did consider an all male tank, but after everything I have read they are to aggressive to keep that way.

30 years is a LONG time for experience, so I am not saying detroit is all wrong and has no idea what they are talking about I'm sure they do. I will keep an eye on everything and everyone, if problems seem to come up...I will remove them. I am not really worried about breeding, if they breed they do if they don't it wont bother me. Most fry would become food anyway I'm sure (sorry if that sounds mean).

no thats what would happen if the pregnant females were not taken out any ways .and your more than likely going to have cross breed fish anyways that you wouldnt be able to sell.as for aggresion again in my 30 years of breeding africans which is the only type fish i have breed!!aggression starts more when you introduce the females to a all male tank as they fight to be the alpha breeding male .even if it is not there same species they are fighting over.i do not know of one breeder in the us who has a mixed tank.its just not good business to do so.any repritubale breeder will tell you this.and as for the debate its not im just trying to steer you in the right direction.female cause aggresion in mixed species tanks period.and as for your fish congrats i cant wait to see some pics of the new guys.i hope they are all healthy and beautiful!!!

Female cichlids do not get "pregnant". They spawn and taking the females out would not help because the eggs would need to be fertilized by a male after the female drops them...

Thank you Detroit, I'm hoping they end up looking as nice as the one pictured.

I do not plan on breeding and selling them at all. If I end up with babies I would just keep the survivors anyway, or let others here or at AC have them (they would no there is a chance they are not pure). I would never breed and sell fish unless they were in a species only tank

As for the "pregnant" "egg" thing. I believe it depends on the cichlid species as how it is done. They all are mouth broders but I think different species fertilize in different ways. Once the female is actually "holding" the eggs they are fertilized though I believe.

The females drop the eggs and the male usually follows behind and fertilizes them. Then the female scoops them up in her mouth. I guess the female could be removed while they are holding.