Does anyone on this forum have any of these fish. Last night, unfortunately I had to tank my male Red Zebra (pictured in another one of my threads) back to the LFS and trade him in. I have concluded that my sick fish, was not actually sick but badly beaten up. It is still questionable wheter or not he will recover, but he is still lurking around in my hospital tank. I did not want to get rid of my red zebra because he was pretty as well as very amusing and entertaining. When I got to the store they had another male red zebra that was significantly smaller. I decided to get him in hopes that he would be less terrotorial and aggressive with the established fish. I believe the fish I traded in was just plain mean, and I am hoping that the new one I got will establish well. Let me know if any one on here keeps red zebras, and if they have had problems with aggression. :help:
Red Zebras and aggression
- Thread starter graysilm
- Start date
I had a red zebra once who was the nastiest fish in my tank.Now keep in mind my tank is 75 gal. and he thought he owned the entire tank.He would chase after anything that moved in that tank ,including the plastic plants if they looked at him wrong 
.Finally one day he ,I guess you could say ,commited suicide as he swam back and forth in the tank as fast as he could banging into the glass until he knocked himself out and died.After having him cause havic the way he did over time I thought one zebra was enough and I stay awy from them.
.Finally one day he ,I guess you could say ,commited suicide as he swam back and forth in the tank as fast as he could banging into the glass until he knocked himself out and died.After having him cause havic the way he did over time I thought one zebra was enough and I stay awy from them.
I've found Red Zebras (m. estherae) to be dominant but not terribly aggressive once their dominance is acknowledged; destined to be tank bosses but not bullies.
However, I have over 30 of them (various tanks of course) and have never kept a lone red zebra (or in numbers less than 4), so I suspect lone red zebras might be able to unleash more unchecked aggression.
However, I have over 30 of them (various tanks of course) and have never kept a lone red zebra (or in numbers less than 4), so I suspect lone red zebras might be able to unleash more unchecked aggression.
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if you don't keep them properly, the behaviour you're seeing is normal ... i.e, belligerant. you need to keep almost ALL Mbuna in a sexual ratio of one male to at least 3 females and 4 is better. you also need to keep them in a large enough tank to afford the ability to maintain 3 groups of 4-5 Mbuna which means a 55 gallon tank minimum. red zebras are no more aggressive than most other Mbuna when kept properly.
Agree with what everything here has been said.... if housed with 'proper' tankmates red zebras are not overly aggressive. But when kept in smaller numbers, in smaller tank sizes, and/or with less aggressive fish they can be real nasty.
Your smaller one might do okay in your tank because the rest of the fish are quite a bit larger than him.... but it wont last forever. Remember I mentioned to you previously that the number of fish you have in your tank is asking for trouble? You should add more to help spread out aggression and 'crowd' them a bit. In your 55 gallon I would aim for 8-10 fish. Maybe try to find females or males for the fish you already have, because most often having more than 2 fish of each species will help with aggression (at least with proper sex ratios).
-Diana
Your smaller one might do okay in your tank because the rest of the fish are quite a bit larger than him.... but it wont last forever. Remember I mentioned to you previously that the number of fish you have in your tank is asking for trouble? You should add more to help spread out aggression and 'crowd' them a bit. In your 55 gallon I would aim for 8-10 fish. Maybe try to find females or males for the fish you already have, because most often having more than 2 fish of each species will help with aggression (at least with proper sex ratios).
-Diana
caution when adding more fish to an established tank. the new kids on the block are going to be at a distinct disadvantage relative to those already in the tank who have established territories which they won't appreciate new fish getting into. thus the new fish often end up on the losing end of territorial battles.
in my experience, the best way to handle this, though it is a bit of a pain in the butt, is: take out a third of the water in the tank. take out ALL the decorations in the tank, including rocks and plants (use this opportunity to do a gravel vac). THEN add the new fish and wait for an hour or so. then put the decorations and stuff back in the tank and make sure it looks very different than the way you had it set up before. then fill the tank back up and turn off the lights. best if the tank is dark for about 12 hours now, so if it's during the day, maybe cover it with something opaque.
in my experience, the best way to handle this, though it is a bit of a pain in the butt, is: take out a third of the water in the tank. take out ALL the decorations in the tank, including rocks and plants (use this opportunity to do a gravel vac). THEN add the new fish and wait for an hour or so. then put the decorations and stuff back in the tank and make sure it looks very different than the way you had it set up before. then fill the tank back up and turn off the lights. best if the tank is dark for about 12 hours now, so if it's during the day, maybe cover it with something opaque.
Should be fine... also try to find new fish that arent a whole lot smaller than your existing fish.
-Diana
-Diana