The Zebra Obliquidens were thought to be completely extinct until an eccentric fish keeping multi-millionaire kicked the bucket and it was found that he had an enormous amount of these fish. Since then they have been bred to increase their numbers. That is why they often have an inbred appearance. I have 5 of them and had to do some research on the matter myself at one point... but there ya have it.
Zebra Obliquidens - Edumacate me on this guy
- Thread starter TheFanatic
- Start date
Fun fish. I have one along with an albino one, and they're constantly on the move. They've got big appetites, enjoy a little veggies from time to time, and don't bother with anything else in the tank besides eachother.
I had some a long time ago and they were absolute beasts. They terrorized every other fish in my tank and the poor sub male used to get hammered.
They are very tough though. Even though the females would have shredded fins they bounced back very quickly.
I read in a local magazine many years back that when these guys were still found in the wild the females would actually group up and create a nursery for the fry and look after them together as a group.
It would be amazing to re-create that in captivity.
Here is a pic of the guys I had. No the best but i don't have them anymore so its the best I can do.
There is a breeder here in SA that has got some, I would love to keep them again but they are no good with peacocks IMO. You can see the poor sub male in the one pic.
They are very tough though. Even though the females would have shredded fins they bounced back very quickly.
I read in a local magazine many years back that when these guys were still found in the wild the females would actually group up and create a nursery for the fry and look after them together as a group.
It would be amazing to re-create that in captivity.
Here is a pic of the guys I had. No the best but i don't have them anymore so its the best I can do.
There is a breeder here in SA that has got some, I would love to keep them again but they are no good with peacocks IMO. You can see the poor sub male in the one pic.
this story is true as posted earlier in the thread.
The Zebra Obliquidens were thought to be completely extinct until an eccentric fish keeping multi-millionaire kicked the bucket and it was found that he had an enormous amount of these fish. Since then they have been bred to increase their numbers. That is why they often have an inbred appearance. I have 5 of them and had to do some research on the matter myself at one point... but there ya have it.
they are a decent looking species many are now being inported from tailand and teh east i would avoid them as the ones from there have been juiced and look real good for the first 4 months or so but then go south fast, thoes i have seen died. there are some very good strains available still. it amazes me that they were saved from one collection. the above pictured fish is a sp 44, not the same fish. sp 44. can be brutal the latisifacanita or zebra obliquedends is no where near that agressive. hap obliquedends has not been imported in to this country. its a name that lfs seem to tack on to victorians of most strains.
my fish pictured above
they were rather easy to spawn being mouth brooders. females will brood young 18-24 days depending on tepmpurature/producing any where from 13 fry when young to broods as large as 55 was my expierance. thier temerment is not to agressive to other species but males of the same species will become increasingly intollerant of other males. they can reach4 i-5 inch size. they do like someplants and rock work. they will feed on most comercial foods and should be varied high protien in small amounts like bloodworms can stimulate breeding.
great specis and easy to care for.
The Zebra Obliquidens were thought to be completely extinct until an eccentric fish keeping multi-millionaire kicked the bucket and it was found that he had an enormous amount of these fish. Since then they have been bred to increase their numbers. That is why they often have an inbred appearance. I have 5 of them and had to do some research on the matter myself at one point... but there ya have it.
they are a decent looking species many are now being inported from tailand and teh east i would avoid them as the ones from there have been juiced and look real good for the first 4 months or so but then go south fast, thoes i have seen died. there are some very good strains available still. it amazes me that they were saved from one collection. the above pictured fish is a sp 44, not the same fish. sp 44. can be brutal the latisifacanita or zebra obliquedends is no where near that agressive. hap obliquedends has not been imported in to this country. its a name that lfs seem to tack on to victorians of most strains.
my fish pictured above
they were rather easy to spawn being mouth brooders. females will brood young 18-24 days depending on tepmpurature/producing any where from 13 fry when young to broods as large as 55 was my expierance. thier temerment is not to agressive to other species but males of the same species will become increasingly intollerant of other males. they can reach4 i-5 inch size. they do like someplants and rock work. they will feed on most comercial foods and should be varied high protien in small amounts like bloodworms can stimulate breeding.
great specis and easy to care for.
I had a couple, meaner then hell, but awesome fish. Make sure to give them room or over stock. Once I started moving fish around and he saw room for territory, it was fishy massacre one by one.
emptyhead;4461796; said:
You should probably re-read what he wrote. He was referring to the photos of the fish above his post. They look nothing like a Zebra Obliquiden. The photos he posted however, are definitely Zebra Obliquidens with a massive dose of color!
I would LOVE to get my hands on some! They're gorgeous! I found some at an LFS, but they died during quarantine of a nasty infection.
What is the proper latin name for them? I see Astatotilapia obliquidens and Astatotilapia Latifasciata. Or are those two different species?
What is the proper latin name for them? I see Astatotilapia obliquidens and Astatotilapia Latifasciata. Or are those two different species?
