Mpanga red-top zebra
Maylandia emmiltos
Also known as Metriaclima emmiltos, Red top zebra Mpanga
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–82°F (24–28°C)
- pH
- 7.5–8.5
- Adult size
- 4.1 in (10.5 cm)
- Minimum tank
- 53 gal (200 L)
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Social behavior
- Social
- Tankmates
- Tankmates with caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Medium
- Rarity
- Rare
- Origin
- Lake Malawi, Mpanga Rocks
- Family
- Cichlidae
Overview
The Mpanga red-top zebra is a mbuna from Lake Malawi and needs a proper rift-lake tank. It is a social but aggressive rock-dweller, best kept as a harem of one male with several females so the male's attention is spread out. It spends its time low among the rocks, grazing algae and defending a patch. Choose tankmates with care: other robust, similarly boisterous mbuna work, but nothing shy or slow. Feed a mainly vegetable diet of spirulina flake and algae-based pellets, and go easy on rich protein foods, which can harm this grazer. A tank of at least 200 liters, packed with rock and caves, gives it room to sort out territories.
In the wild
Maylandia emmiltos is found only at Mpanga Rocks, a single rocky stretch of northwestern Lake Malawi near Chilumba. The lake water is hard and alkaline, so aim for a temperature range of 24–28 C and a pH of 7.5–8.5. Build the tank around piled rock with plenty of caves and crevices, over a sand floor, to imitate the broken rocky shore where these fish graze the algae film and shelter from one another.
Good to know
Maylandia emmiltos belongs to the cichlid family and reaches about 10.5 centimeters. It is a maternal mouthbrooder: after spawning, the female holds the eggs and then the fry in her mouth for several weeks. The species name emmiltos refers to red ochre, for the red wash over the dorsal fin that sits above the fish's blue body bars. It is one of several red-top zebras split out of the old Pseudotropheus zebra complex.
Did you know
Its entire wild range is one rock pile, Mpanga Rocks off Chilumba; like many Malawi mbuna it is a single-reef endemic, evolved in place on one stretch of shore and found naturally nowhere else.
Common questions
What size tank does a Mpanga red-top zebra need?
A Mpanga red-top zebra needs at least 53 gal (200 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH do Mpanga red-top zebra need?
Mpanga red-top zebra are comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 7.5–8.5.
How big do Mpanga red-top zebra get?
An adult Mpanga red-top zebra reaches about 4.1 in (10.5 cm).
Where to buy
Some links may not be the exact species or variety.
- Imperial Tropicals Freshwater fish and inverts bred at a Florida hatchery
- The Wet Spot Tropical Fish Large selection of quarantined tropical freshwater fish, with live arrival guarantee and Next Day Air flat rate shipping to all US locations
…or ask your local fish store.
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