Blue Zebra Care Guide, Tank mates, Breeding

The Blue Zebra with its bright blue colors is enough reason why you want to have these in your aquarium.

With their immaculate colors, they become the center of attraction in the tank quite easily. These species of fish are adorned with bright blue colors all over their body.

There are other color variants as well, such as the Pearl Zebra, Red Zebra, and Orange Blotch.

The Blue Zebra has spiny fins in their body. They come off as mouthbrooders. However, keeping these dazzling blue creatures can be a handful because of their temperament. They are semi-aggressive and territorial.

Size and Lifespan of Blue Zebra 

A Blue Zebra can live for about 10 years. That is if you keep them in the perfect tank condition. In terms of size, Blue Zebra can reach a maximum of 5 inches when they become an adult. 

The Behavior of Blue Zebra 

The Blue Zebra tends to lean towards the aggressive side. Once they’ve established themselves in the tank, they’ll make an area around caves and fissures their territory and protect it.

They spend most of their time in the tank’s lower levels, hiding among the rocks and returning to their domain frequently.

Tank Mates for Blue Zebra 

Owning to their aggressive and territorial nature, it is not easy to find a tankmate for Blue Zebra.

When choosing tankmates for this species of fish, you must find species of a similar size and those that can handle or fend off the aggression of the Blue Zebra.

The best tankmates for Blue Zebra are Red Zebra, Auratus, Pindani, and Kenyi.

Can you keep several Blue Zebra in the same tank? 

Yes, you can keep more than one Blue Zebra together in a tank. Though keeping more than one male is not recommended.

If you add males together, then they will begin to show aggression towards one another. You can keep one male with 2 to 3 females in a tank.

Care of Blue Zebra

Tank Size of Blue Zebra 

When thinking about the tank size, you must know that these fishes are highly territorial.

So you will have to provide them with ample space. On top of that, they can reach a size of about 5 inches. So you need a minimum of 50 to 55 gallons tank for Blue Zebra. 

Diet of Blue Zebra 

The Blue Zebra are herbivores and will accept any plant-based food you give them. Make sure to feed them twice or thrice a day and feed them the amount of food they can eat in 2 minutes.

You can give them herbivore flakes and pellets.

Mix these with blanched vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, broccoli, etc. Make sure to cut the vegetables into small sizes so, it becomes easy for the Blue Zebra to eat.

Water Temperature and Water Parameters of Blue Zebra 

The Blue Zebra prefers the temperature ranges around 72℉ to 80℉. The pH of the water must be around 7.5 to 8.5.

Keep the parameters within these ranges and your Blue Zebra will have a hassle-free life. 

Tank Setup for Blue Zebra 

For Blue Zebra, you must provide a lot of rocks in the tank. You have to keep these in patterns so that your Blur Zebra can make its territory. Although don’t go overboard with the rocks. For the substrate, you need to keep a sandy one. You can add crushed coral as well. 

You can add plants as well. But the plant needs to be a sturdy one as it needs to handle high pH and nipping of the fish as well. Also, create some water movement. You can add an air stone and an air pump for it.

Don’t miss out on their feeding and don’t fluctuate the water parameters. Keep the water in good condition always and perform partial water changes quite often. Also test your water to know about any kind of fluctuation. 

Breeding of Blue Zebra 

Breeding the Blue Zebra in an aquarium is easy. You must keep the water parameters to their liking. Also, keep 1 male with about 3 females. 

The male and the female will mate in the male’s territory. The female will then lay eggs and put them in its mouth. The male then fertilizes the eggs. This goes on until the female has about 50 eggs in her mouth. The female will carry the eggs in their mouth. The eggs will hatch in about a week. The fry will remain in the female’s mouth until they become big enough to swim independently. The female’s appetite will go down when she is carrying eggs.

Sexing Blue Zebra 

Telling the difference between a male and a female Blue Zebra is easy. But this task becomes quite hard when they are young. In order to tell the difference easily, they have to mature. 

The males have more vibrant and beautiful colors than the females. The males are also bigger in size than the females. The fins of the male Blue Zebra are elongated. On the other hand, the fins of the female are rounded. 

Cost of Blue Zebra 

The Blue Zebra are very popular and you can find them in any aquarium store and online. These fishes will cost you around $10 to $20. 

Conclusion

As beautiful as they may be, the Blue Zebras are not for beginners. They don’t demand much care and all you have to do is keep the tank clean and maintain the water parameters, the hard part is handling their aggressive and territorial behavior.

You must provide them with a spacious tank with rocks so that they can create their territory. So a Blue Zebra is recommended for people who are a bit experienced with keeping fish.