Ice Blue Zebra (Maylandia greshakei) Breeding Guide

How to breed Maylandia greshakei: sexing the colourful male, harem setup, mouthbrooding behaviour, the 3-4 week holding period and raising the fry.

Overview

Maylandia greshakei is a rock-dwelling mbuna endemic to Lake Malawi, where it occurs only at Makokola; it reaches about 13.4 cm total length and is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN. Like all mbuna it is a maternal mouthbrooder that breeds readily once a settled male and conditioned females are present, which makes it an achievable subject for an intermediate keeper.

Sexing

Males are far more colourful than females, developing the ice-blue body and bright dorsal that the species is named for, and they carry egg-shaped spots on the anal fin. Females are plainer; a holding female is recognised by her distended throat and her refusal to feed.

Conditioning

Condition the group on plenty of live and frozen foods to bring the females into spawning condition. Stable, hard alkaline water suits the species, with a pH around 8.2-8.5 and a temperature of roughly 25-27 degrees Celsius (77-80 degrees Fahrenheit) maintained during the breeding period.

Breeding Setup

An aquarium of around 120 cm (a 48-inch tank) is recommended, stocked as a harem of one male with at least three females to spread the male's attention. Provide flat stones and open areas of substrate to serve as spawning sites among the rockwork.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The male displays intensely and can be quite aggressive in his pursuit of females, which is why a harem is used to dissipate that aggression. The female lays her eggs on the chosen site and takes them into her mouth; she is drawn to the egg spots on the male's anal fin and, in attempting to gather them, the eggs are fertilised.

Egg & Fry Care

The female carries the brood in her mouth for up to three to four weeks before releasing the free-swimming fry, ceasing to feed throughout. The released fry are large enough to take brine shrimp nauplii from birth.

Common Challenges

The main difficulty is the male's aggression, which can stress or injure females if too few are present, so a generous harem in a large enough tank is essential. A stressed female may spit out or eat the brood prematurely, so holding females should not be disturbed; some breeders move them to a quiet holding tank, accepting that the move itself carries a risk of premature release.