Zebra Activity

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Tristan
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Zebra Activity

Post by Tristan »

Am i the only person who seems to have zebra plecs that hide all day and night. My plecs are very shy and all i see of them is a caudal fin or two. Even when i put food in the tank there is little or no movement. The food is however gone by the morning. Any thoughts or comments on how your fish act will be appreciated.

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McEve
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Post by McEve »

The Zebra is very shy, so I don't think your experience is all that uncommon. however, I see mine quite a lot, as I have set up their tank in a room with very little activity (no people at most times), and instead I set up a web cam so I can spy on them when they think they're alone.

This way I get to see them acting as normal as one could expect in a tank, and there's a lot of activity when nobody is watching but the web cam! :D
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Post by Dr. P »

Your definately not alone. I baught 4 Zebras around 4 weeks ago and I find the same thing. I have their tank set up in my home office where I thought would be the most peacefull room but still not muh activity from the Zebras. They spend most of the time (if not all) chilling in their caves, but like you, when I feed them the food always disapears..... they have nice fat bellies, bright "colours", bright eyes and generally look in peak conditions.... I just have to learn not to worry so much :roll:

I plan to set up a web cam so I can monitor the little suckers from work. I also plan on adding either Guppies or a couple of German Rams (the previous owner had great experiences with the mix of Zebras and Rams) to act as a dither... hopefully this will make them feel a little more secure.
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Post by McEve »

A web cam will give you a much better opportunity to study the fish. This is a screenshot from my web cam, and it's not feeding time either :D Ahmmm this is not quite true, even though the pump is back on, there's still some food laying around I see. Just to make sure I give the correct information :wink:

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Tristan
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Post by Tristan »

Do you always switch the pump off when it comes to feeding time and for how long. ?
L046, L033, L117, L200, L027, L014, Discus, & malawis
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Post by Rob »

nice looking tank McEve

Do you have a url, that we could link too? Is it live online?

As for zebra's hiding, must admit, most are the pretty shy. They get used to feeding times eventually. A few of my males stare out of the tank when they want fed.

try feeding them, then putting the light off in the room for a wee while.

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Post by McEve »

Do you always switch the pump off when it comes to feeding time and for how long. ?
Yes I always switch it off. If I don't the food is swirled around and never settle at the bottom. Funny thing though, the Zebras seem to know that it's feeding time when the pump is turned off :) I usually leave it off for about an hour. It's only the internal pump I turn off btw, there's an external filter on the tank as well, and I leave that one on.
Do you have a url, that we could link too? Is it live online?
It is online, but I have a lousy upload speed, so it only gives a picture every 10 seconds as it is now. I'm in the process of getting a 2 Mbp/s SDSL, which should be ready next week. It should be possible to see the web cam showing live picture then, and if you're interested I will of course post the link then!
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Post by Dr. P »

McEve wrote:Yes I always switch it off. If I don't the food is swirled around and never settle at the bottom.
I have the same problem and have to do the same thing.

Problem is, I get the best results when feeding at night so I think I am going to set up a timer which allows 1 of the pumps to be turned off fer an hour (after I feed and then put the lights out n go to bed)... then an hour later.... the pump will automatically turn back on.
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Post by McEve »

That sounds like a good idea Dr. P :) I also think that the Zebras get used to a feeding pattern after a while, so that you should be able to get them to feed while it's still lights on if you want.

Mine are fed at different times of the day, but their cue is pump off, so they always know when the food is coming. they feed just as well no matter what time it is. Mind you, it wasn't like that the first two months I had them, it took them a while to feel safe!
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Post by Dr. P »

McEve wrote:Mind you, it wasn't like that the first two months I had them, it took them a while to feel safe!
:D Exactly!! :D I would hate to think I was making the "settling time" any harder or more stressful.
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urchysj

Mine hide too!

Post by urchysj »

I was quite worried about my new Zebras. Only had them for a couple of weeks. When I check on them, they are in a spot right? After a whole day, I check on them again...and it looks like they haven't moved an inch! So I am concerned too. Also, they have no disturbance, species only tank, and could be left in complete darkness. They see no humans except when I feed/check on them. So I hope they are eating enough. They don't seem to eat a lot. I noticed I can TOUCH one and he still does not want to move. They look healthy, so I wonder if he's just playing possum. Hmm. I gave up on the frozen bloodworms. Too expensive to throw it in and then have to siphon them all out the next day. I threw in some shrimp pellets and I watched for a few minutes. I then saw them move around....probably could smell the food....so they do move. We'll see. I'm like a mother hen...always fussing and caretaking too much. :wink:
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Post by Des »

I have had my latest batch of zebras approx 2 months.
Initially they were very shy and constantly hiding.however now after 2 months still stay in the open when I go near the tank.
They also feed during the daytime.
I feed occasionally in the mornings and mostly in the evening.
Tankmates are Sturisomas ,L0134, Ancistrus Claro and Rams .
I have stopped using Frozen bloodworm after I lost my largest L046male soon after a blood worm feed.
Feed flake, tetra prima ,various tablet foods but they specially love JMC High Protein granular fish food.
I keep them in a bare bottom tank where it is easy to see if there is any uneaten food.

Des :lol:
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Post by Adam »

Some quality zebras there Mceve, nice tank too.

The largest of my zebras don't seem to hide that much , they spend quite a bit of time out in the open. however it's a very different story for the smallest two, I rarely see them and when I do it's only very briefly. I wonder if they feel intimidatd by the bigger ones. Has anyone else observed this behavior.

I feed mainly blood worms but after what happened to Des I'm definately going to cut down. I think I've got them eating prima at least I think I saw a couple having a nibble. At last I've found another person who uses JMC high protein granular food. I swear by this stuff, it's great as an intermediate food for bringing on fry. However you must feed sparingly as it is can quickly foul your water.
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