I need some help with the people who have already spawned zebras....How many of you spawned them in a bare bottom tank and ones with gravel/sand....I am setting up my 60gal and was wondering whats better for spawning purposes..
Thanks
-Jerms
Sand or Nothing....
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jerms55555
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hI jerms55555,
My 10gal breeding tank is bare bottomed, or should I say most of it, as one quarter of it is partitioned of with a 6" piece of glass for an undergravel filter powered with a venturi powerhead. The caves & bogwood are in the bare bottomed area and the zebras hang out there too.
How many are you going to have in your 60 gal?
Des.
My 10gal breeding tank is bare bottomed, or should I say most of it, as one quarter of it is partitioned of with a 6" piece of glass for an undergravel filter powered with a venturi powerhead. The caves & bogwood are in the bare bottomed area and the zebras hang out there too.
How many are you going to have in your 60 gal?
Des.
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jerms55555
- Obsessed!!
- Posts: 360
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:50 pm
- Location: Los Angeles
I plan to put 7 adults they range around 2.75" to 3.25" (inches).
I want that nature look (I will have caves and drift wood with some java ferns and some anubias plants, very low light plants and a sand substrate.) but I don't know because a Discus breeder told me not to put anything. I guess its easier to see all the waste and uneaten food, that way you can siphon it out. He says it keeps the water cleaner and zebras would probably breed with cleaner water....
who knows, well I sure don't thats why I'm asking.....
I want that nature look (I will have caves and drift wood with some java ferns and some anubias plants, very low light plants and a sand substrate.) but I don't know because a Discus breeder told me not to put anything. I guess its easier to see all the waste and uneaten food, that way you can siphon it out. He says it keeps the water cleaner and zebras would probably breed with cleaner water....
who knows, well I sure don't thats why I'm asking.....
Well... I have sand in my Zebra tanks, and mine breed. Like others have said, if you choose to go for a substrate, choose sand, not gravel, as gravel is too coarse for them to dig in anywa, and it does get a lot dirtier than sand.
I've heard some say that the bottom is cleaner without sand. It's true that you can easy find any uneaten food in a bare bottomed tank, but it's not hard to find it and remove it in a tank with sand either - at least not in my opinion. Guess it depends on what you're used to? I also prefer sand because I don't think sand get the same coat of bacteria as a glass would, as the sand is in motion. I kinda don't like the idea of thinking that they constantly lie on a layer of bacteria, but this might not be a valid concern.
I've seen commercial breeding tanks with Angels and other fish are barebottomed, and no decorations at all, but these fish don't lie on the bottom....
Just some personal thoughts - I know lots of people have bred catfish in barebottomed tanks, so it works fine. I just like to provide an as natural enviroment as I can, but there are many aspects with fishkeeping that suggests you can't compare it to a natural enviroment anyway, so maybe it's not a valid point.
Best of luck with what you choose!
I've heard some say that the bottom is cleaner without sand. It's true that you can easy find any uneaten food in a bare bottomed tank, but it's not hard to find it and remove it in a tank with sand either - at least not in my opinion. Guess it depends on what you're used to? I also prefer sand because I don't think sand get the same coat of bacteria as a glass would, as the sand is in motion. I kinda don't like the idea of thinking that they constantly lie on a layer of bacteria, but this might not be a valid concern.
I've seen commercial breeding tanks with Angels and other fish are barebottomed, and no decorations at all, but these fish don't lie on the bottom....
Just some personal thoughts - I know lots of people have bred catfish in barebottomed tanks, so it works fine. I just like to provide an as natural enviroment as I can, but there are many aspects with fishkeeping that suggests you can't compare it to a natural enviroment anyway, so maybe it's not a valid point.
Best of luck with what you choose!
I had sand in my setup until about a month ago. While I was removing it I noticed that some areas had become grey and that as it was disturbed gas bubbles were being released. It was my own fault for having too deep a layer of sand, I plan to use sand in another setup shortly but this time I will only have a layer of about 2cm.
I can see both sides of the argument, bare bottomed tanks are far easier to maintain that much I agree with. However from an aesthetic point of view they do not look nice and more importantly they do not recreate what can be found in the zebras wild habitat. Whilst I had sand in my tank I noticed that the zebras enjoyed digging it up, they even made burrows under the slate. I guess that they were happier with the sand substrate and is this not what we are looking to achieve? I don't know whether this is purely coincidental but I have noticed that they bicker a lot more since I removed the sand. That said I've yet to hear an absolutely compelling argument for either type of setup.
I can see both sides of the argument, bare bottomed tanks are far easier to maintain that much I agree with. However from an aesthetic point of view they do not look nice and more importantly they do not recreate what can be found in the zebras wild habitat. Whilst I had sand in my tank I noticed that the zebras enjoyed digging it up, they even made burrows under the slate. I guess that they were happier with the sand substrate and is this not what we are looking to achieve? I don't know whether this is purely coincidental but I have noticed that they bicker a lot more since I removed the sand. That said I've yet to hear an absolutely compelling argument for either type of setup.
Hi jerms55555,
I did try using sand in one of my zebra breeding tanks. I found that a lot of the smaller granule foods that I use were disguised in the sand. I gave it a couple of weeks but in the end decided to remove the sand as I couldnt take a risk, that the fish had eaten all the food ,I had put in, since I could NOT see what was eaten and what was not. I agree , in the case of larger foods , flake foods etc it would be easy to see, but my fish love the small granular foods such as zm granules and jmc high protein food. If the water was polluted and the fish died, maybe with cheaper, easier to get fish , it wouldnt be much of a problem, but with zebras being so expensive and now nearly impossible to obtain, I personally cannot take that risk.
As McEve says, Everyone has their own reasons for choice of substrate, I have mine , but dont force this ( my view) on anyone else. I have also "lost" zebras by having a gravel substrate in the past, through pollution due to food in the gravel,so this too makes me extra cautious.
Regards,
Des.
I did try using sand in one of my zebra breeding tanks. I found that a lot of the smaller granule foods that I use were disguised in the sand. I gave it a couple of weeks but in the end decided to remove the sand as I couldnt take a risk, that the fish had eaten all the food ,I had put in, since I could NOT see what was eaten and what was not. I agree , in the case of larger foods , flake foods etc it would be easy to see, but my fish love the small granular foods such as zm granules and jmc high protein food. If the water was polluted and the fish died, maybe with cheaper, easier to get fish , it wouldnt be much of a problem, but with zebras being so expensive and now nearly impossible to obtain, I personally cannot take that risk.
As McEve says, Everyone has their own reasons for choice of substrate, I have mine , but dont force this ( my view) on anyone else. I have also "lost" zebras by having a gravel substrate in the past, through pollution due to food in the gravel,so this too makes me extra cautious.
Regards,
Des.
