I'm new to this and my son (4yo) really has to have one. He saw one in the not-so LFS and declared that he had to have one. I currently have 1 rainbow shark, 4 long-fin rosie barbs, 3 polkadot botias and 3 bala sharks: all are still rather small. In a 55g tank (will be upgraded for christmas). There are 3 large plants and 1 small plant. 3 "animal" bubblers (I know, his idea), a large artificial driftwood piece and 2 caves. I plan to add at least 1 more small cave for the ZP at the same time (hopefully so he could claim it).
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? My not-so LFS has ordered one for me and will hopefully be here soon. I will be sure to post pictures as soon as I get him/her. I am really more excited about this now than my little guy is. I wish I had a dedicated tank just for them, with a few dither fish for upper activity
New to Zebras
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QueenDustBunny
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Alistair
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Welcome to the forum, I hope you find it as useful as I have.
Firstly zebs require a higher temp than most other tropical fish, this along with the strong fitration and flow rate that is required to keep them comfortable, means that there are few suitable companions for these fish.
Secondly, as they are quite shy and retiring they can easily be bullied off food by more boisterous fish and go short on food. Before you collect your fish from your LFS, consider what you can do for the community fish you have at the moment, I would look at putting them in a separate tank and building up a stock of these fish, there are a few threads on here that discus companions for zebs if you want to have some other fish in the tank.
Thirdly, I would enquire as to where the fish has come from. They are very rare in the wild now due to environmental pressure and over collection which means that their exportation from the wild has been banned. Consequently their prices have become very high (up to £250 for an adult here in the UK) this is for both pre ban, first and second generation (f1 and f2) fish. If you look at various threads on this site you will see comments on unscrupulous traders!
The best thing I can recommend is to look at as many articles and threads as possible on this site about their requirements and consider whether or not you can supply them. As I said earlier they are a rare and expensive fish and it would be ashame not to provide yours with the best care possible.
Good look in your zeb keeping.
Al.C
Firstly zebs require a higher temp than most other tropical fish, this along with the strong fitration and flow rate that is required to keep them comfortable, means that there are few suitable companions for these fish.
Secondly, as they are quite shy and retiring they can easily be bullied off food by more boisterous fish and go short on food. Before you collect your fish from your LFS, consider what you can do for the community fish you have at the moment, I would look at putting them in a separate tank and building up a stock of these fish, there are a few threads on here that discus companions for zebs if you want to have some other fish in the tank.
Thirdly, I would enquire as to where the fish has come from. They are very rare in the wild now due to environmental pressure and over collection which means that their exportation from the wild has been banned. Consequently their prices have become very high (up to £250 for an adult here in the UK) this is for both pre ban, first and second generation (f1 and f2) fish. If you look at various threads on this site you will see comments on unscrupulous traders!
The best thing I can recommend is to look at as many articles and threads as possible on this site about their requirements and consider whether or not you can supply them. As I said earlier they are a rare and expensive fish and it would be ashame not to provide yours with the best care possible.
Good look in your zeb keeping.
Al.C
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NetsuaiAngel
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Hi QueenDustBunny,
Welcome to the forum.
Alistair has stated some valid points and I can only guess at the price you will be paying for a zebra to add to your tank.
I currently have rosey barbs with my zebras and I will admit that they do cause a ruckus in my tank. The two adult zebras I have are okay with the rosey barbs but the youngs one I have are a bit frightful with their 'zippy' nature and they do scare the zebras from the food I feed; even with me giving the food directly to their areas of the tank with a turkey baster. I plan to move them to another tank soon.
I'm not familiar with the botias family but I do remember they caught my eye when I was looking for fish for my work's tank and my LFS store informed me that they are usually an aggressive species, all except one type of botia and the botias they showed me cost about $30 per fish.
If your son loves colorful fish and would like to see "zippy" fish that pair ad breed easily, I would suggest looking at peacock gudgeons. They're beautiful fish and would compliment your current tankmates. I use to have them, but they are not good companions with zebras.
I noticed that you said you are "upgrading" tanks. Perhaps you may want to hold off until you've "upgraded" and use your "original" tank as a dedicated zebra tank.
There is a ton of information on this site and I'm sure you'll find out what would be the best course of action for you and your son.
Best of Luck!
- Angela
Welcome to the forum.
Alistair has stated some valid points and I can only guess at the price you will be paying for a zebra to add to your tank.
I currently have rosey barbs with my zebras and I will admit that they do cause a ruckus in my tank. The two adult zebras I have are okay with the rosey barbs but the youngs one I have are a bit frightful with their 'zippy' nature and they do scare the zebras from the food I feed; even with me giving the food directly to their areas of the tank with a turkey baster. I plan to move them to another tank soon.
I'm not familiar with the botias family but I do remember they caught my eye when I was looking for fish for my work's tank and my LFS store informed me that they are usually an aggressive species, all except one type of botia and the botias they showed me cost about $30 per fish.
If your son loves colorful fish and would like to see "zippy" fish that pair ad breed easily, I would suggest looking at peacock gudgeons. They're beautiful fish and would compliment your current tankmates. I use to have them, but they are not good companions with zebras.
I noticed that you said you are "upgrading" tanks. Perhaps you may want to hold off until you've "upgraded" and use your "original" tank as a dedicated zebra tank.
There is a ton of information on this site and I'm sure you'll find out what would be the best course of action for you and your son.
Best of Luck!
- Angela
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Alistair
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@ McEve
McEve wrote:thank you Alistair, I really had no idea how to respond to this postYou did great!
Thats ok, when I used to work at my LFS we had to provide a holding hand to lots newbies when they came into the shop and saw all our nice looking fish! If we gave good advice and guidance they came back and often told other people about us too
@ Queendustbunny try quizzing your LFS as much as possible about fish keeping, if they are un-helpful move your trade to some where else. If they oblige stick with them and tell your friends.
Al.C
I agree with above replies
With this tankmates a zebra pleco certainly would become very shy and consequently wouldn't manage to feed properly as the more boisterous fish would eat everything before the zebra has even the courage to come near.
Also you have to realize that your son and you probably will never see him again, as this shy creature will be hiding all the time.
All this is no exaggeration, I know this from own experience.
Your best bet would indeed be to keep the zebra in the 55 gallon and move the other fish to a bigger tank. Or even better obtain more zebras, so that this endangered fish has a chance to reproduce.
Even so you should read about the needs of this other fish. I have read that Bala Sharks become enormous and are active swimmers and need a tank of about 500 liters.
I understand that your son and you became enthousiastic about this wonderful fish. By the way your son has excellent taste
but unfortunately this is not a very easy fish to keep.
With this tankmates a zebra pleco certainly would become very shy and consequently wouldn't manage to feed properly as the more boisterous fish would eat everything before the zebra has even the courage to come near.
Also you have to realize that your son and you probably will never see him again, as this shy creature will be hiding all the time.
All this is no exaggeration, I know this from own experience.
Your best bet would indeed be to keep the zebra in the 55 gallon and move the other fish to a bigger tank. Or even better obtain more zebras, so that this endangered fish has a chance to reproduce.
Even so you should read about the needs of this other fish. I have read that Bala Sharks become enormous and are active swimmers and need a tank of about 500 liters.
I understand that your son and you became enthousiastic about this wonderful fish. By the way your son has excellent taste
but unfortunately this is not a very easy fish to keep.
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QueenDustBunny
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Thank you
I just wanted to say thank you to every one who help, by their replies and other posts. I have purcased and set-up a separate tank for the ZP. I've planted it and put in 2 store caves. The store with the ZPs had no idea about the history of them, so I declined them (not wanting to support the illegal trade). I'm getting the ZP from a more reputable source. The tank is set up in a quieter corner than originally planned. I'll be reading more about the caves here and getting them arranged for happiness. I'll try to post a picture soon.
Ideas are always welcome and appreciated.
Ideas are always welcome and appreciated.
