Zebra Malawi Cichlid

About

Found hugging the rocky shoreline of Lake Malawi, Maylandia zebra is one of the classic mbuna cichlids, native to the lake's boulder-strewn shallows as well as slightly deeper, sediment-rich zones around Likoma and Chizumulu Islands. In the wild it forages by raking biofilm and loose material from rock surfaces at a near-perpendicular angle, and will also pick plankton from open water. Despite being listed in some sources as peaceful, this fish is actually one of the more assertive mbuna in the hobby. Housing it with gentle species like peacock cichlids is asking for trouble. A standard Malawi cichlid community of similarly robust fish works much better. To keep aggression manageable, most keepers run a harem of at least three females per male, with only one male per tank. Decor should reflect its wild habitat: plenty of rockwork to break sightlines, with open sandy patches left clear. Breeding is genuinely rewarding and very achievable in a home aquarium. Females are maternal mouthbrooders, carrying small broods of roughly ten to fifteen eggs for three to four weeks. Males use distinctive egg-spot markings on the anal fin to trigger fertilization. A clever bit of evolutionary trickery. Fry emerge large enough to handle baby brine shrimp immediately, making this an accessible breeding project for anyone already familiar with African cichlid keeping.