Golden fleece zebra
Maylandia chrysomallos
Also known as Metriaclima chrysomallos
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–82°F
- 24–28°C
- pH
- 7.5–8.5
- Adult size
- 4.3 in
- 11 cm
- Minimum tank
- 53 gal
- 200 L
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Social behavior
- Social
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Mouthbrooder · Medium
- Rarity
- Rare
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Origin
- Lake Malawi
Overview
The golden fleece zebra is an aggressive mbuna that lives low among the rocks of a Malawi tank. It is best kept with a little mbuna experience.
Did you know
The golden fleece zebra borrows its species name from Chrysomallos, the golden-fleeced ram of Greek myth. The ram's hide became the Golden Fleece that Jason sailed off to find.
Caring for the golden fleece zebra
Give golden fleece zebras at least 53 gal (200 L), which helps spread aggression across a group. Build heavy rockwork, with stacked rock forming caves and territories over a sandy floor. They patrol the lower water around the rocks and graze the algae film on them.
Keep the water hard and alkaline, at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and a pH of 7.5 to 8.5. Stable chemistry and strong filtration suit these rift lake grazers. Keep the diet mostly vegetable, built on spirulina flake, spirulina pellets and algae. Too much rich or meaty food upsets rock-grazing mbuna.
Keep one male with several females, and expect the usual mbuna politics of chasing and posturing. Choose other robust mbuna of similar size and manners as tank mates. Leave out small, slow or timid fish.
Males carry a gold sheen over the dark zebra barring. The species is a maternal mouthbrooder, with the female holding the eggs in her mouth. Breeding it is moderately difficult.
Good to know
Maylandia chrysomallos is a member of the family Cichlidae, described in 1997 from Mumbo Island. Its species name comes from the Greek for golden and for wool or fleece.
In the wild
The golden fleece zebra is known only from the rocky shore around Mumbo Island in Lake Malawi. There it grazes the algae-covered stone.
Common questions
What size tank does a golden fleece zebra need?
A golden fleece zebra needs at least 53 gal (200 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a golden fleece zebra need?
A golden fleece zebra is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 7.5–8.5.
What does a golden fleece zebra eat?
A golden fleece zebra eats a mostly vegetable diet built on spirulina flake, spirulina pellets and algae. Too much rich or meaty food upsets it.
How big does a golden fleece zebra get?
An adult golden fleece zebra reaches about 4.3 in (11 cm).
How can you tell a male golden fleece zebra from a female?
Males carry a gold sheen over the dark zebra barring.
How does a golden fleece zebra breed?
The golden fleece zebra is a maternal mouthbrooder, so the female holds the eggs in her mouth. Breeding it is moderately difficult.
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