Females lip-locking ??

[Italy592]

Can or is it even possible for females to lip lock with a male or another female !?? Now these fish are Red Zebras and I didn't know I never heard of anyone talking about it ao I was asking cuz I had ordered specifically one make and 2 females and I saw two of the red zebras lip locking and I was curious. Now I know that it is I got two females and one male because my lfs guy is a family friend and called the company he gets then from and ordered them special so what's going on guys ??


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[Tony]

Females will lock lips from time to time. Not saying that's the answer though.

How big were the fish when you got them? Unless they were at least 2.5"+ long and/or had laid eggs before, they really are going to be very difficult to vent. Color is not a very good indicator either as dominant female mbuna will often assume male coloration (not sure which type of red zebras you have - orange/orange or blue/orange).

 

[Italy592]

I have orange orange and they are 1 male and 2 female specifically ordered from the fish company and they are about the size of 2


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[Tony]

I have orange orange and they are 1 male and 2 female specifically ordered from the fish company and they are about the size of 2

Well like I said, venting fish that small is iffy at best.

You're going to want more than three zebras anyway. They are on the more aggressive side of mbuna and even if you do have 1M/2F, the females may get harassed pretty badly. You'll probably want a few more to spread out aggression. I wouldn't try them with less than 6 total fish.

 

[Italy592]

But it's not unusual for females to do that tho ???


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[DiscusnAfricans]

I've seen females lip lock before. I think cichlids establish a full pecking order no matter what the sex. I had a group of discus with a dominant female that would chase around males. I've seen Victorian and mbuna females lock lips, usually less violent than male struggles, but still agrressive in its own right. The most experienced people will tell you the only sure way to identify a female is to witness her with eggs. Everything beyond that is an educated guess. Even venting is only highly accurate for females that have previously spawned.

 

[Italy592]

Ok than I'll just wait and see then ha


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[WendyFish]

My female RZs definitely lip lock; as I think I have mentioned, my girls are more directly confrontational of each other than my 2 males are to one another. What I have found is unusual is for males/females to fight each other.