They are mbuna from Lake Malawi. The metriaclima zebra are located all over the lake, and each collection area has a slightly different color morph. This particular variant has a typical m.zebra blueish body, but a dark blue "beard" on it's jaw and lower neck. They also have a slightly lighter colored blue in the body with darker colored black stripes which make them very attractive. The females are an OB pattern, which is a slightly orange"ish" base color with blue/purple/black blotches all over their bodies. They are a herbivore and should be kept with other similar diet species. The maximum size is 6", and the ones I have for sale are in the 4.5-5" range. They are aggressive towards each other and this trio should be kept in a larger (75+ gallon) aquarium. The males want to breed constantly so it's a good idea to have enough rock work in the tank so the females can get out of sight as needed. They aren't too bad to other tank mates as long as you have a decently stocked tank. I have had these housed with tropheus, labeotropheus, and demasoni in the past without any issues....but the m.zebra can be disruptive to other species breeding. I hope this helps. A good website to check out is
www.cichlid-forum.com, they have pretty good species articles. Enjoy!
