If you are a private seller, then why not give this a shot? It's free and might even have some of those zebra thingies! You can also post requests for exchanging or loaning fish. Please refrain from posting opinions or irrelevancies in this section.
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I am interested in 5 zebra pleco fry(2-4 weeks) if older specimens are available and seller is willing I will not complain! All inquiries should be sent to my pm box or rickyfins@hotmail.com US inquiries only please. I only hope to find some before I die. It is really a shame to see that there are so many greedy hobbyists online lately and wanting so much for a live creature. I only hope that there are some honest hobbyists left. I am only interested in breeding these to help promote captive success and growth in the hobby. I am not in this to make money other than to pay for my hobby needs. I currently propagate corals very well and have had great luck with all FW species that I have tried. Now it is time for Zebra Plecos. I am waiting. This is like an auction but only the best deal wins on my end. I am willing to send the first successful spawn back to the seller for their kind act of not taking me for everything I have. I do not fool around so only serious inquiries only.
Thanks,
Rick
For Sale: I Have 2 Large Brains. I have not made up my mind what I want to do with them.
I can Breed fish! Really? Yes! How do you get them to have sex? LOL. All by themselves of course.
I'd be surprised if you found anyone willing to part with fry that are that young. 2-4 weeks is very young and so tiny! I have fry that must be around 6-8 months old now and they are still pretty dinky. Maybe 1.5"? They are slow growers. Personally, I would not be willing to move fry on until they were a bit bigger. But that's just me. Good luck in your search!
Another question comes to mind. If you did find someone; which I doubt, why would you be willing to gamble on shipping fry that small? The stress would be terrible on fry and chances of loss are great. You may want to reconsider this.
Am sorry to say that these kinds of posts, although sincere, usually fall on deaf ears...
People aren't going to underbid each other to provide you with L46, it's the other way around... You are going to have to offer large amounts of cash to entice people with fish for sale to contact you.
No offence intended friend, but I do speak from experience.
2-4 weeks is barely past the wiggler stage most people are just pulling the young from the parents. I understand your frustration about not finding any zebras but the bottom line is if you want them you have to pay to get them. We are all not money greedy people but when you buy at the current prices you help the current breeders keep going. I hope you the best but we all are in the same boat.
I also might add that one of the least effective ways to get help from people is to insult them by calling them greedy and questioning their honesty.
While I have never bred Zebras and only recently acquired a group of juveniles, I have bred discus for years and I am sorry to say that it has not made me rich, not yet anyway!
The many hours spent feeding, changing water, cleaning tanks, etc...will never be recovered by most of us. If you don't love the fish there's really no point IMO.
I want to appologize as I did not want to insult anyone. I am willing to take larger zebra plecos. I just want to make it clear that I am willing to take fry as well. Taking time off the breeders hands so he/she can start a new. I know how much time is involved as I am a sucessful and longtime hobbyist. But the fact that you have said that I sound insulting must have hit a nerve but I am sorry. I was talking about honest hobbyists due to some bad experiences I have had recently and am turned off by deals that either fall through or they take my money and run.
I am trying to make it simple for anyone having these fish. Send me enough to start breeding and I will send you the first successful spawn of a reasonable size. I am willing to contact an attorney for official documentation if needed for the deal. I am willing to pay the shipping but not an outrageous price for these fish. I know that it is needed due to small clutches and time it takes, but outrageous for most hobbyists. I know about breeding discus and no it wont make you rich, unless you breed thousands upon thousands. I figure that if a hobbyist is willing to do what I ask and I return the first successful clutch(maybe 2 clutches) they will have doubled/tripled($$$) what they wanted for just those 5 or 6 fish I want. I am not asking for the keys to the vault in Fort Knox, I am just saying that I can and am willing to help this species be more prominent and successful in captivity now that it is endangered!
thank you all for your posts,
Rick
Last edited by rickyfins on Thu May 18, 2006 6:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
For Sale: I Have 2 Large Brains. I have not made up my mind what I want to do with them.
I can Breed fish! Really? Yes! How do you get them to have sex? LOL. All by themselves of course.
Welcome to the forums. I hope you find what you're looking for.
With regards to the previous answers...unfortunately at present the customer cannot dictate the terms when it comes to obtaining zebra's. If they could then then zebra wouldn't be experiencing half the problems it is now...which is a shame, but hopefully at some point the customer will be able to pick and choose between breeders, ensuring only the best specimens enter the public domain.
In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open and hopefully you'll have some luck.
But I do believe that a customer can dictate what they want or they really will opt not to buy. I have seen it many times as I am a co-founder of a local Reef club and member of others. I would like to hear more from you on why you think the Zebras are having so much trouble other than the fact that they can no longer be exported. For good reason, but I think that hobbyists can get together and help this little guy become prominent and healthy in the hobby. I just would like the opportunity to help in a constructive way(through breeding) and see things change a bit. So why is there so many problems when there doesn't have to be? I have been quite discouraged lately from staying in the hobby but have stuck it out for some time hoping that things change. One reason I have stuck it out is the Zebra Pleco. I feel I can help just like other hobbyists have, there are other species too but I must keep my breeding room small this time around and I have gotten rid of half my stuff so far. I think I am down 50% or so leaving me with only 100 aquariums.
Plastic Man I look forward to hearing from you soon.
thanks
Rick
For Sale: I Have 2 Large Brains. I have not made up my mind what I want to do with them.
I can Breed fish! Really? Yes! How do you get them to have sex? LOL. All by themselves of course.
All inquiries should be sent to my pm box or rickyfins@hotmail.com US inquiries only please. I only hope to find some before I die. It is really a shame to see that there are so many greedy hobbyists online lately and wanting so much for a live creature. I only hope that there are some honest hobbyists left. I am only interested in breeding these to help promote captive success and growth in the hobby. I am not in this to make money other than to pay for my hobby needs. I currently propagate corals very well and have had great luck with all FW species that I have tried. Now it is time for Zebra Plecos. I am waiting. This is like an auction but only the best deal wins on my end. I am willing to send the first successful spawn back to the seller for their kind act of not taking me for everything I have. I do not fool around so only serious inquiries only. 
