Zebra Obliquidens Care & Tank Set up Guide (Astatotilapia latifasciata)

Описание: Zebra Obliquidens are African cichlids, commonly called as Obliquidens and most hobbyists refer them as Lake Victorian Cichlid. Even though they thrive in the hobby these fish are critically endangered in the wild. The word Obliquidends may refer to various types of fish from these lakes, which may look similar. None-the-less lets stick to the most common name for these fish Zebra Obliquidens and the scientific name is Astatotilapia latifasciata. This fish no longer exists in Lake Victoria and also are believed to be extinct in Lake Kyoga, the only wild population is reduced to Lake Nawampassa in Uganda.
In the wild these fish are insectivores, major part of the diet is insects, very little information is available about behavior of this fish in their natural habitat. However, few things are common between these fish and other Haps, these fish are mouth brooders, they grow about 3.5 to 4 inches in length and may live up to 5 years in an aquarium.
Male and Female Zebra Obliquidens - Its easy to differentiate between male and female Zebra Obliquidens, male develops red belly where as female and juvenile stay greenish yellow in color. Male Zebra Obliquidens are confused with other Victorian cichlids like Haplochromis nyererei, however these are entirely different species. Astatotilapia Latifasciata fish have about 6 vertical black lines on their body, 1 line runs on their eye.
Aquarium care guide for Zebra Obliquidens -
75 gallon is ideal for fully grown fish, its best to keep 1 male and at least 2 to 3 females in the same tank.
Female Astatotilapia latifasciata are good mothers they can be kept with the fry for up to 2 months,
Tank decoration - Like any African cichlid tank from the great lakes, sand for tank bottom, lot of rocks and hiding places, this would help other fish to escape from dominant male. Aggression is not as much as you see in a Mbuna tank, I experience aggression which is chasing each other only during feeding time, otherwise this fish seem well behaved. I would advice to stock the tank with good number of fish along with very good filtration system, this is one way of keeping the aggression down.
Food - These fish are insectivores in their natural habitat, the diet should be more of protein based & less of Spirulina based, I feed quality pellets, flakes, freeze drid worms, live and frozen food.

Tank mates - The fish in video were rised by me as fry with Auratus, Kenyi, Socolofi, Peacock cichlid & yellow lab. Best tank mates were Peacock cichlid and yellow lab as theey share similar temperament, I would still advise to look out for any short of aggression.

Water parameters -
Temperature range - 75–82 °F (24 to 27 °C)
pH range - 7.5 to 8.5
Water hardness - moderately
hard to hard.

If you have any questions leave a comment, I will try to answer as soon as I can.

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