Goldbreast zebra

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a classic mbuna, kept the classic way: one male with a group of several females, plenty of stacked rock, and enough space to absorb the constant low level squabbling. It holds the lower water around its rockwork, and the male defends a territory hard, so keep it with other robust mbuna of similar size and temperament rather than small or gentle fish. A tank of around 200 liters or more with heavy rockwork gives females places to retreat. Feed a diet built around vegetable matter and algae, such as spirulina flake and pellet, with only occasional richer foods, since a mainly plant based diet keeps mbuna healthy.

In the wild

The goldbreast zebra comes from the Maleri Islands area of Lake Malawi, where it lives around rock over sandier, softer bottoms rather than sheer boulder faces. Recreate that with the lake's hard, alkaline water, warm at 24–28 C and around pH 7.5–8.5, piles of rock to form caves and boundaries, and some open sand. Good water quality and stable chemistry matter for these rift lake fish.

Good to know

Maylandia barlowi, still often sold under its old name Pseudotropheus barlowi, is a member of the family Cichlidae reaching about 10 centimeters. Males wear a golden yellow chest under the dark mbuna barring, while females are a plainer gold brown. It is a maternal mouthbrooder, the female carrying eggs and fry, and breeding is of moderate difficulty.

Did you know

The species honors George Barlow, an American biologist who studied why some cichlids evolved gold coloring; barlowi, with its butter colored chest, is a fitting namesake for that work.

Common questions

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