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Encyclopedia / African Cichlids / Red zebra
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Variations

4 kinds · tap one for a closer look

Red zebra

Maylandia estherae · Red zebra mbuna, Esther's zebra, Metriaclima estherae, Orange zebra

Active and territorial; males chase females and rivals.

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12 cmBody length, without tail ✓
24–28 °CTemperature ✓
7.8–8.6pH ✓
137 LSmallest tank ✓
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Tank mates
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Not recommended
  • White cloud mountain minnow needs cool water and makes a lot of waste, while Red zebra is tropical.
  • Rift lake cichlids like red zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
Not recommended
  • They need different temperatures (24–28 °C vs 10–22 °C). No setting suits both.
  • Rift lake cichlids like red zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
Not recommended
  • Oscar eats animals up to about 12 cm. Red zebra only grows to 12 cm.
  • Rift lake cichlids like red zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like red zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: 24–25 °C.
With conditions
  • Rift lake cichlids like red zebra need hard, alkaline water and a busy, cichlid-only tank.
  • Their pH needs don't quite meet (7.8–8.6 vs 4.5–7). Aim between the two and keep it steady.
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible
Compatible

72 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 ✓10–25 dGH
Group size ✓4 or more
Temperament ✓Semi-aggressive
Swims at ?All levels
Care level ✓Moderate
Diet Omnivore
Lifespan ?Unknown
Size in shops 3–6 cm
Growth Medium

Behavior

Active and territorial; males chase females and rivals. Do best in a crowded mbuna tank with plenty of rockwork.

  • 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

Typically males are blue and females orange, but orange or orange-blotch (OB) males and yellow or OB females occur in some places. Males have larger and more numerous egg 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 a harem of one male and at least three females; the female carries the eggs for about 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 about 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 – Mozambique shore
Rivers and lakesLake Malawi (eastern, Mozambican coast)
HabitatRocky and rock-sand shoreline
Native rangeAbout 60 km across
See it on the world map

The story of the red zebra

One of the best-known mbuna: wild males are usually blue and females orange. It lives over rocks along the eastern (Mozambique) shore of Lake Malawi and was described by Ad Konings in 1995.

Ad Konings described the red zebra in 1995, although aquarists had kept it for decades as a red form of the zebra mbuna. It is one of the most common mbuna in the hobby. In the wild, males are usually pale blue while females are orange.

First described by Ad Konings in 1995.

  • Males and females often differ in colour: blue males, orange females.
  • Aquarium strains are commonly bred so that both sexes are orange-red.
  • Like other mbuna, females brood eggs and young in their mouths.

Sources

15 facts checked with sources