Zebra obliquidens

Care at a glance

Overview

This is an aggressive cichlid, especially around breeding, and is best kept singly or in a harem of one male with several females rather than as a tight group. It swims in the middle of the tank. Feed quality cichlid pellets with live or frozen extras like brine shrimp and bloodworms. House it with other sturdy fish that can stand up to it, and give plenty of broken sightlines to spread out the aggression.

In the wild

This cichlid lives in the shallow waters of Lake Kyoga and Lake Nawampasa in Uganda, over mixed sand and rock, using the rocks for cover and open areas to forage. Give it hard, alkaline water around pH 7 to 8 and a temperature in the low to high 20s C. A 115 liter tank or larger with rockwork for hiding spots and clear swimming lanes works well.

Good to know

Astatotilapia latifasciata is in the family Cichlidae and grows to about 12.5 cm, with bold vertical black bars, strongest on the males. It is a maternal mouthbrooder, the female carrying eggs and fry in her mouth. It is considered critically endangered in the wild, hit hard by habitat loss and introduced species, and many aquarium fish help keep the species going.

Did you know

It is sometimes used as a stand-in study species for the famous Lake Victoria cichlids, since it is hardy and breeds easily in captivity while many of its close relatives are endangered or already gone from the wild.

Related species

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  Burton's mouthbrooder

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• 

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• 

  Johanni cichlid

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