Metriaclima zebra Mbenji is endemic to Lake Malawi where it is only found in the waters around Mbenji Island. Pictured above is a wild caught adult male.

The Mbenji was previously assessed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Redlist from 2007-2018 due to it's limited range and threats listed as sedimentation, extraction for the aquarium trade, and subsistence fishing.

Recently the assessment has updated this species to "Least Concern", and the population is listed as stable.

"It meets the area requirements under criterion B for a threatened category. However, four decades of extraction by the ornamental fish trade has not noticeably decreased the population and it is not thought to be under threat. Therefore, it is listed as Least Concern."

Assessor(s): Ad Konings

Photo Credit: Kevin Millz

Download the Free PDF that includes the description of this species just click the button below, or shop our Metriaclima Zebra Mbenji products.

Make sure to sign up for our newsletter for more content like this plus exclusive discounts!

Metriaclima Zebra Mbenji References:

• IUCN. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <http://www.iucnredlist.org>.
• Konings, A. (2007) Malawi cichlids in their natural habitat. 4th ed., Cichlid Press, El Paso, Texas, 424 pp.
• Stauffer, J. R., JR. , Bowers, N. J., Kellogg, K. A. & McKaye, K. R. (1997): A revision of the blue-black Pseudotropheus zebra (Teleostei: Cichlidae) complex from Lake Malawi, Africa, with a description of a new genus and ten new species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 148, 189-230 pp.