ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

I thought it was about time I joined this excellent site. I have recently acquired a group of four adults which bred for their previous owner and I am hoping to achieve the same success.

This site is very good indeed and it is refreshing to be able to find so much good advice and help in keeping these fish. I have now managed to settle the fish down and apart from a bit of a scrap between two of the males everyone has taken up their respective stations so hopefully there will be some action at some point!

I am still figuring out what they will and won't eat and this may take a bit or work before I find them a good balanced diet. Tetra prima is definitely not liked at the moment, but I am hoping to convert them. They did actually take some flake food last night.

That's it for now.

Andrew

Welcome to this great forum! there is a excellent no fantastic recipe going round this site homemade cant beat it check it out it is a sticky thread in general care and breeding i believe! if you have any questions i am sure one of the experienced guys and gals will help you out!! i am just an annoying person that hangs around! lol

Welcome to the forum Andrew it's nice to have you onboard .

At last another londoner, I was starting to think that no one in London keeps zebras.

Zebras can be finicky feeders and you're right to try and vary their diet. unfortunately I don't listen to my own advice as my zebras are firmly hooked on frozen food. Hope you find the forum useful.

Adam

Hi Andrew,

Welcome to the forum.
Its good to have you on board.
If you are the same Andrew from www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk, we met a few weeks ago at Wholesale tropicals when my friend, Iggy Tavares was taking a few photos.
I'm glad you managed to get some Zebras. Hope they have got you hooked !!! You showed quite some interest when we spoke last.

PS Theres no problem you putting your website on the bottom of your posts!!!!

Regards,
Des.

Adam,

That make 3 of us now in London. We are catching up on the Scottish Contingent. Is your cousin also in London?.

Des.

Hi Des

It is I. Yes I have been looking for some time for some and managed to get four adults which I know have bred. I am now firmly hooked and have found myself looking to buy more which is a bit scary! The most I have ever paid in the past for a fish is £20 to £30, but I now find it easy to part with £100 per fish although fortunately I don't give the wife the full details!

How are you getting on with the youngsters? Iggy said you have an article on breeding these critters coming up in Tropical World.

Hi Adam

Did we meet at the Wildwoods Weekend a while back - not sure, but your name rings a bell?



Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Would you have been the chap that I bought a copy of Datz from? If so yes that was me and the other chap I was with was my cousin. It's nice to meet you again be it electronically . I remember us having a fairly long chat about zebras and that you were looking for some, glad you managed to get hold of some and a breeding group at that.

Des, that's 4 now as my cousin is also from London. With any luck we will soon be outnumbering the Scottish posse. For the time being Scotland remains the zebra capital of the UK but I can almost feel the winds of change .

Welcome, this place are heaven

Welcome to the forum Fishfinder... you've got some good Zebby people living near you It's nice to meet some like minded enthusiasts!

Now... Where's all the Bristol zebra people? Have I got to sail this boat all alone??

Hi Andrew,

Iggy and I have just finished writing the article on breeding zebra plecs based on my experiences,together with Iggys photos, which should be published in Tropical World fish magazine Issue 7 ,in about a months time.
By the way so many people have received a lot of satisfaction from refering to your website for fish that they want. What a brilliant idea!!!! Isn't it just great when one can combine business with pleasure.
Regarding food, my zebras absolutely love JMC high protein granules ( with the yellow lid - not orange/red which are the Hi-grow granules), JMC catfish pellets and the home made frozen mix. I use bare bottom tanks, so be careful with the above if you are using gravel, as these foods soon dissappear in the gravel, especially the first 2. Prior to using the home made mix, I was using whole frozen (NewZealand Green) mussels, which they adored. I just put a frozen mussel in the tank, which sinks after a while. I removed the remains after a day or two.
What did the previous owner feed them?.

Regards,
Des.

do i count! i live in essex? i want to be added to one of the posses lol

Hi Des

Thanks for the comments about TFF. It is more a hobby than a business - doesn't generate much so it is always good to get feedback like that.

In terms of the Zebras, he used to feed them primarily frozen bloodworm and brineshrimp which I have continued plus I give them some Tetra Pro flake which they do take instead of Tetra Prima. I also pop in the odd carnivore tablet - Hikari, but that doesn't look to get touched. Will try your frozen mussel - where do you get it from?

How many youngsters have you managed to raise?

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I got my Frozen Mussels from a local Chinese Cash and carry. But most good Fishmongers or the big food stores should stock them. If you cannot get the large green lipped New Zealand ones, just use the Smaller common mussels (though not as tasty both for me or the zebras ).
I had 4 babies the first time, though one died before it was free swimming.
I had a second clutch of 16 eggs which I found in the aquarium , unfortunatelly they were all infertile for some reason. Maybe one of the females laid , without a male in the cave to fertilise the eggs?

Regards,
Des.

HI Andrew

Glad you could join us, it already seems like you have quite a following. Looks like I will need to go out there and drum up some more scottish participants!!

I'm sure you will find all the info you need here, everyone has contributed a great deal, and we are continually figuring out new similarities between breeding habits.

Good luck with the new group.

Rob