NASTY COMMENT MADE BY SOME1 SELLING ZEBRAS

ZEBRAHUNTER · Post by **ZEBRAHUNTER** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 5:59 pm

Hi i felt it necessary to let people know that there is some1 out there that does not like this site 1 little bit, i know it may be there own opinion and we cant stop this but i personally feel this site good advice,
all i was doing was asking some questions about the zebras he was selling here is the link from ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 7723976851 i asked on here if £150 for juviniles was a good deal, as i wasnt sure of a REASONALBE PRICE but i was told it was a tad pricey which is a fair comment so i declined to bid on them, after that i received a e-mail with some nasty comments about being a time waster and not serious about the fish,( i was serious as you all know how much i wanted some zebras) i felt that was fine i could handle personal attacksd against my decision not to bid but he went on with this here is part of the e-mail to me

I don't rate that website as they appear to be giving poor advice.

i have tried to look through posts as to where the bad advice has come but am finding it a hard task maybe i could have some members help me,

how can it be giving bad advice ROB BARBIE and many others here have succesfully spawned thier zebras.

anyway i thought id just share that point with you.

feel free to delete this message if you feel it necessary but i thought id want to know if i was being put down

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 8:38 pm

I'm not so sure where this posting is expected to lead to, but it seems to me that both "Fishy photos" and "Spawning" bear witness about quite a few people having found this site useful in understanding the Zebra

PS. Please be careful with the caps lock as it's considered shouting, and can be interpreted as rude.

Plastic Mac · Post by **Plastic Mac** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:01 pm

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:21 pm

Hi zebra Hunter

Thanks for that.. always looking fro ways to improve the site and find out where we are making mistakes.

The following has been sent:

Hi

This is Rob from www.zebrapleco.com. I hope you do not mind me e-mailing you, but I have been informed that you feel my site is offering bad advice on the care and husbandry of hypancistrus zebra. I was wondering if you would clarifying where this bad advice has come from. The sole purpose of the site is to assist people in looking after these fish appropriately so that they can be bred in captivity as opposed to stripped from the wild. It is also hoped that by increasing captive breeding we will be able to reduce the price of the fish and draw the attention back to them as an endangered fish as opposed to a commercial comodity. It concerns me that you feel we are offering bad advice, and if so I would be grateful if you would point the "bad advice" out so that it can be rectified.

Since the site went online just over a year ago we have helped over 30 people in total breed zebras, which I am sure you will agree can only be a good thing.

Thank you

rob

Hopefully they will get back to us pointing out the "bad advice"

Caesars · Post by **Caesars** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:50 pm

I suspect that the "bad" advise was that £150 was a bit too pricey for the fish. Does anybody else see a bit of sour grapes here? At the end of the day, the guy was deprived of a potential customer ...

zebra046 · Post by **zebra046** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 6:51 am

Please be carefull who you deal with online first of all if his intentions are noble he would sell this fish as a group so that the person who intends to buy them has a greater chance of breeding and second are you sure those are his fish in the picture I am very sure I have seen them a few years back and lastly if the advice on this forum is so bad maybe he can add some or even correct our mistakes as he has breed them before and just selling some surplus of fish w/c is most likely males I have quite a bit of them but surely I don't have a single surplus plus if you want the fish in a peacefull tank dont keep them with discus Amen.

ZEBRAHUNTER · Post by **ZEBRAHUNTER** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 4:06 pm

Mceve im not expecting this post to lead anywhere im just letting rob and the others that there is some1 that doesn't think they are doing a good job, like i said b4 i would want to know if people dont agree with something i do or in other cases do wrong, so i felt it necessary to inform the site of this.

it might have just been a dig at me but when i said to the guy about not purchasing his and later telling him that i had bought 2 possible females from which some people on here said they might be and the shop told me they were but your never sure, his response was from the best of my memory as i dont have the e-mail anymore, i bet they aint i the shop was just saying that to get a sale i have been breeding them for (cant remember how many years alot though) he has over 20-40 i think and i cant even tell thier sex and i know i have both sexes in there.

i must be fair he started off very friendly when i told him how many plecos i had and the tank i wanted to start putting zebs in then as soon as i didnt purchase the juviniles then BAM i was a timewaster and this and that.

I didnt mean to start a big thread on this but just to point out there was a person that thought this site was giving poor advice which i felt very strongly against so had to point it out

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 7:50 pm

Hi Zebrahunter

I don't think McEve was having a go at you, I think she was just questioning where we could possibley go from here. i.e as you said everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I appreciate you bringing it to my attention as I do not like the idea of people thinking this is not a good resource and would obviously like to find out the reasoning behind it.

That said I have still not received a reply.

Rob

Silven · Post by **Silven** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 3:59 am

Guys you are totally getting carried away. If this so called breeder has been doing this for longer than he can count he is obviously not good at Math. He can't even sex his own fish, yet he some how managed to get them to breed. Does any of this make any sense to any of you? This guy doesn't only sound like a fake, he sounds like a con. I wouldn't waste my time or energy on this sore looser any longer. That's just my two bits.

zebrastorey · Post by **zebrastorey** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 10:13 pm

he actually has 40 zebras in a 6 foot tant

LyreTail · Post by **LyreTail** » Tue Nov 29, 2005 12:58 am

I do not think it was a scam as it was for pickup only ( no mail ) Hard to scam on pickups

This was an auction wasn't it? The price it sells for is always a good price, since that is what somebody is willing to pay. As more people breed them the price will fall since supplies will go up.

I don't think anybody can tell you "this or that is a good price" you have to ask yourself "what am I willing to pay for this". So in that sense, I think the advice you may have got was just an opinion and not really advice.

In my opinion, £150 is a high price what is considered "normal" now days, however just a few years ago I was only paying less than £40 each for them in the USA ( $60 to $75 US dollars each- they are now going for $150 to $200 each for 5 to 7 cm long juveniles in auctions now)

madmoroccan · Post by **madmoroccan** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 2:18 am

Hi all,

I just read the whole post... shocking!

I can safely say what a pile of crap... I am new to L46... I could even say negligibly stupid when it came to plecos in general before I discovered this site and joined the forum (less than two months ago).

I am now "considered" by my peers to be an expert in the tropical aquarium thing... Why? All because of the invaluable info I read on here.

I must say there have been some hard lessons learnt through your bad experiences:

ALWAYS:

1)keep 2 smaller heaters rather than 1 big one...
2)trust no one on eBay when it comes to Zebs (collection only!)...
3)I was going to buy juveniles now I have thought better of it (adult geoups are better)...
4)Set up the main tank for months and months before even considering Zebs (I have a separate 2 ft tank for messing about with)...
5) I know this is one of those comments that YOU may all think as a bit of wishful thinking... But "when" I do get a working breeding setup I will not sell my fish for extortionate prices... I have a Zeb passion NOT get rich scheme.

All these things together... learnt from here, have opened my eyes to the true joy of keeping fish. Preservation not constipation (hot air)!

Now you tell me... how rubbish was the stuff I learnt from you guys?

Sounds like somebody on ebay put their foot in their mouth. This guy sounds like a chav with a couple of pence to "invest". The real loser will be the fish.

Kind regards

Bader

Frontyking · Post by **Frontyking** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 6:53 am

LyreTail wrote: In my opinion, £150 is a high price what is considered "normal" now days, however just a few years ago I was only paying less than £40 each for them in the USA ( $60 to $75 US dollars each- they are now going for $150 to $200 each for 5 to 7 cm long juveniles in auctions now)

I wish here in Oz Zebs were going for those prices that LyreTail has mentioned. I paid $650 AUD each for 4cm fish a few weeks ago and was offered 5 more today at $850 AUD from another breeder.

Nick.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 9:02 am

Thank you for your kind words madmoroccan, they are greatly appreciated. We do seem to be very lucky on the site as far as the people who make the effort to join and contribute tend to have the fish's best interests at heart.

You have made my Sunday!!!!

Fronty King... if Shipping was realistic, (and of course not illegal) I'm sure there would be a few folks here who would have sent you a few for alot cheaper! :wink.

I do believe the price will fall over then ext few years, alot of which will be down to people like yourselves!

cheers

rob

Frontyking · Post by **Frontyking** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 10:39 am

At the end of the day Rob, if keeping these beauties in existence means forking out 6, 7 or 8 hundred AUD per fish, then so be it mate cause realistically, shipping even any tank bred Zebs to Oz will be out of the question for many many years to come. Until then I hope to make them available to as many people as possible downunder by hopefully breeding the little buggers one day