2 fellas at ~3 inch

stanchung · Post by **stanchung** » Sat May 05, 2007 5:11 pm

Hi,
Just got them recently and overjoyed but need some expert guesses!!!

Thanks in advance!

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Sat May 05, 2007 6:21 pm

both look female to me, especially the 1st one.

good luck!

stanchung · Post by **stanchung** » Sun May 06, 2007 3:35 am

Thanks Andrew!

I'll call one Ellen and the other er...[j/k]

They look skinny for females. The bent fins and lack of 'odontodes'

I will try to get a closer shot to see the 'odontodes' or lack of...

stanchung · Post by **stanchung** » Sun May 06, 2007 5:11 am

Here's some Close up pictures of the 'odontodes'.

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Sun May 06, 2007 12:09 pm

ok that helps alot!

i think number 1 is definatley a female, if you feed her up with a good high temperature in the tank she should plump up and condition well. number 2 is harder, possible a young male.

how old are they? they look quite young, 2 and a half years. once they fill out it will be easier to tell.

im sure someone else will give us their opinions too, pm smithrc for his input. he's a good lad and one of the best at sexing these fish in my opinion!

all the best,

andy

stanchung · Post by **stanchung** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:42 pm

Ok I will wait say another year?

Thanks for the help ID'ing. I'm afraid to pm smithrc on such matters!
In fact another friend said exactly what you said. Must be somethign you guys know that we newbies don't. The bent pectorals perhaps?

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Mon May 07, 2007 11:55 pm

nr 1 female
nr 2 - my guess is a skinny female. The head is broader than the body, should be the other way around, but I'm sure you'll fix that in no time

Congrats!

stanchung · Post by **stanchung** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:05 am

Hi thanks McEve,
I suspect they're both females as well.

I've been feeding them but I've never really seen them eat. lol.
Will look into the recipe section for some tips.
I do think they're skinny. My other plecos[L134-not in same tank!] are really fat comparatively. lol

I've kept the temperature at 30-31C as I'm afraid the oxygen levels will be too low as the really like to wedge themselve in the d/wood.

It's a 42x24x16ht tank and pretty big. one powerhead and large airstone. bare tank with d/wood and large stones.

Shares tank with 5 of my red discus and one small albino bristle nose.

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Tue May 08, 2007 10:39 am

Hi Stan,

Your setup sounds fine, but I wouldn't increase the temp any more. High oxygenlevel is very important for the Zebra, and the higher temp the harder it is to achieve that

Good luck, trust you'll have babies soon too

stanchung · Post by **stanchung** » Tue May 08, 2007 1:51 pm

I'm going to add two more large airstones for good measure! Will post in setup gallery section soon. Thanks for the help everyone!