The Hypancistrus Zebra is native to Brazil. The only reported habitat being on the riverbed of the Rio Xingu, (pronounced Rio Shin-gu). This makes it difficult to re-create the exact conditions and parameters that the fish would normally experience in the wild. Fortunately for us the L46 is relatively adaptable.

The Xingu River is a true tributary of the Amazon River, and one which has only recently( in geographical times, 1884) been explored in any great detail. It is made up of three rivers, The Tamitatoaba, The Romero, and the The Colisu, which bounds along a series of rapids over 400 mile long.click to enlarge

The floor of the xingu is primerily made up of rounded rocks, crevises and a sandy substrate, allowing the hypancistrus zebra to travel throughout it's territory under cover from preditors.

The Amazon and some of its tributaries, called "white" rivers, bear rich sediments and hydrobiological elements. The black-white and clear rivers--such as the Negro, Tapajós, and Xingu--have clear (greenish) or dark water with few nutrients and little sediment.