The zebra cichlids of Lake Malawi (genus Maylandia, synonym: Metriaclima) are still very popular due to their bright colors. In nature, many species are polychromatic. This means “multi-colored” and means that highly differently colored individuals can occur within a population. In M. callainos, the males are cobalt blue (“cobalt zebra”) and develop an intense, brilliant coloration during courtship. The females, also blue, always remain significantly paler.
However, there are also white females and white males, which are then referred to as “Pearl Zebra”. There is also a population near Chitande Island, where the males are cobalt blue and the females are white. Overall, M. callainos colonizes the northwest coast of Lake Malawi between Kande Island and Ngara, and there is also a population near Maleri Island that has been settled by humans.
The blue/blue zebras in the trade are all captive bred, which have been selected for intensive coloration for generations. All zebra cichlids grow to a length of 10-12 cm in the wild, but in the aquarium they can easily reach a length of 15 cm due to the abundant food supply and (in comparison to nature) hardly any stress. In order to keep intra-species aggression within limits, it is recommended, as with almost all Mbunas (the name given to the rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Malawi), to keep them in the largest possible groups in correspondingly large aquaria.
For our customers: the animals have code 573402 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
