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Encyclopedia / African Cichlids / Cobalt blue zebra
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Variations

3 kinds · tap one for a closer look

Cobalt blue zebra

Maylandia callainos · Blue zebra, Cobalt zebra, Metriaclima callainos, Cobalt blue mbuna

Territorial and boisterous, especially the males; keep with other mbuna in an overstocked rock tank.

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12 cmBody length, without tail ✓
24–28 °CTemperature ✓
7.8–8.6pH ✓
108 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • Cobalt blue zebra is aggressive and will bully peaceful neon tetra.
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobalt blue zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
Not recommended
  • Cobalt blue zebra is aggressive and will bully peaceful cardinal tetra.
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobalt blue zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
Not recommended
  • Cobalt blue zebra is aggressive and will bully peaceful black neon tetra.
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobalt blue zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobalt blue zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Their pH needs don't quite meet (7.8–8.6 vs 5.5–7.5). Aim between the two and keep it steady.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like cobalt blue zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: 7.8–8.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

57 species in our list are a good match.

Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓8–25 dGH
Group size ✓4 or more
Temperament ✓Aggressive
Swims at ?All levels
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–6 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Territorial and boisterous, especially the males; keep with other mbuna in an overstocked rock tank. Avoid housing with similar-looking blue species.

  • cave

Food

Quality spirulina-based cichlid pellets and flake once or twice a day; keep protein low and add vegetable matter such as spirulina and blanched greens.

Tap a food to see what it is.

Male or female

Males are far more colourful than females and have egg-shaped spots on the anal fin.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Maternal mouthbrooder (harem) · Moderate

A maternal mouthbrooder. Keep one male with at least three females; the female carries the eggs for up to 3-4 weeks.

Pairing

Keep one male with 3-5 females; a lone female is harassed to exhaustion and two males will fight.

Setup

150-250 L rockwork tank with many caves, hard alkaline water (pH 7.8-8.6) and strong filtration. Keep a bare 60 L tank handy to move a holding female.

What starts it

Stable warm water (26-28 C), regular water changes and a good male-to-female ratio; the male displays and leads a female to a flat rock or cave.

Eggs

The female carries the eggs for up to 3-4 weeks. No sourced egg count found.

Raising the fry

The female releases free-swimming fry after 3-4 weeks. Feed finely crushed flake, spirulina powder and newly hatched brine shrimp from day one; do small daily water changes. Remove the female after release so she can recover.

Common mistakes
  • Too few females so the male harasses them
  • Mixing similar-looking mbuna that hybridise
  • Soft or acidic water
Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionLake Malawi – north-western shore, Malawi
Rivers and lakesLake Malawi (Nkhata Bay region)
HabitatRocky shoreline among boulders
Native rangeAbout 80 km across
See it on the world map

The story of the cobalt blue zebra

A rock-dwelling Lake Malawi mbuna prized for its cobalt-blue colour, native to Nkhata Bay. It is often confused with the red zebra and other zebra mbuna, and has also been sold as "Pseudotropheus zebra pearly".

For years this fish was sold as a blue form of the 'Pseudotropheus zebra' before Stauffer and Hert described it in 1992. It was one of the first mbuna to become widely available, and captive-bred stock is now everywhere. Unlike many mbuna, both sexes share the same soft blue colour.

First described by Jay R. Stauffer Jr. & Eric Hert in 1992. Named for Callainos comes from a Greek word for turquoise or blue-green.

  • Males and females look almost identical, making them hard to sex by colour.
  • It grazes the algae-covered film on rocks, called aufwuchs, using rows of small teeth.
  • Females carry eggs and fry in their mouths for about three weeks.

Sources

15 facts checked with sources