Maylandia zebra Gold

Maylandia zebra Gold is a selectively bred colour morph of the iconic Zebra Cichlid, developed through captive selective breeding to produce a consistent golden-yellow body colouration. The faint residual barring of the wild-type is often visible as a ghost pattern under certain lighting. This variant retains the full robust body and assertive personality of the wild zebra cichlid.

The Gold morph is tank-bred rather than wild-caught and is not found in Lake Malawi in nature. It has become a staple of the mbuna hobby due to its clean, warm colouration, reasonable availability, and hardiness. Females are typically pale yellow-white.

In the aquarium, the Gold Zebra is an excellent beginner's mbuna — it is robust, colourful, easy to feed and breed, and adapts readily to aquarium conditions. Carotenoid-rich foods intensify the gold colouration. It can be combined with blue and red mbuna species for maximum visual contrast in a mixed Malawi community.

Water: 24-28°C, pH 7.8-8.5, hard alkaline; tolerant of a range of stable conditions; excellent beginner's fish. Tank: 200L minimum; rock aquascape; good filtration to handle active, productive fish. Feeding: Carotenoid-enriched pellets enhance gold colouration; spirulina flakes as staple. Breeding: Prolific maternal mouthbrooder; 15-30 eggs per clutch; easy to breed in stable conditions. Compatibility: Moderately aggressive; ideal beginner mbuna; mixes well with blue and red species.