Questions for Breeding and Tank Setup?

[2good4U]

I'm going to buy 3 L-46 zebras(1 Male and 2 Female) and these are gonna be my first zebras. I have some questions about the tank setup and breeding.

I've read too many articles about the tank setup and breeding of this fish. But they all say different things.


1-) http://www.zebrapleco.com/article2.php

For example in this article it says about lowering the temperature and raise the waterflow and flash a camera to make a lightning effect. I also thought about using a filter like this to make a rain effect:



But most of the articles say the water temperature should be raised. This is where I get confused about temperature. Should it be raised or lowered?

If it should be lowered, this article tells "make them think the rainy season has just ended, and they will spawn.". So the temperature should be first lowered, waterflow raised (flashes etc. anything to make them think the rain season came, and maybe rise of the water level too) and then rise the temperature and lower the waterflow to make them think the season ended. Did I understood correctly?(My English is a bit bad)


2-) Should i take the fries to another tank or a fry trap after all of them used their yolk sack. Is there a risk about being eaten by other zebras?

3-) Round rocks or pierced rocks? Should they be dark colored rocks?

4-) Black sand or natural yellow/white colored sand?

5-) I currently have malawi cichlids(Pseudotropheus Demasoni and Iödotropheus) so I'll set up a new tank. I'm thinking about 60-80 liters. Is it enough for 1 male and 2 females? If enough or not, what should be the dimensions(cm if possible)?

6-) It says "make one cave per male" in some articles. But it says put too many hiding places and caves in some articles. Which one you recommend?

7-) I also want to put some plants. Which plants they have in their habitat?

8- And what are your tank dimensions and filtering/flowing equipments(to make opinion about the waterflow) ?

NOTE: About my setup/layout related questions, the main object of setting up this tank is breeding.


I've asked too many questions but it's a very expensive fish you know And sorry for my bad English.

Thanks.

[Adam]

Hi 2good4u and welcome to the forum,

You may want to edit your profile to include your location. It helps us when making suggestions on equipment meds etc, knowing where you are from as it may dictate what is available to you locally.

You certainly have a fair few questions there which is probably why you haven't had a reply to date. I know how it feels to be overloaded with information and a lot of it may seem to be contradictory. You must remember that zebras can breed under a fairly wide range of conditions. There are indeed different approaches that will give results.

I know that you are eager to get your hands on some zebras and plunge straight into trying to breed them. My advice is to temporarily forget about the breeding side of things for the time being. Your first priority is to provide the best possible conditions for them and of course to source the best possible breeding stock you can find, the latter is likely to be your biggest chalenge. Unless of course you are lucky enough to be in either Germany or Scotland.

1) You should aim for a good total tank turn over of between 6 to 20 times an hour through the use of powerhead(s) and canister(s) type filters. The main reason not being for breeding purposes but to ensure that dissolved O2 levels remain high. Zebras live in warmer water than your average community fish which has a direct impact on O2 levels. I advise against subjecting newly acquired zebras to a rainy seson, your number one priority will be to get them acclimatised to their new environment. It's during this period that a pecking order will be established and territories claimed. Also the fish should be conditioned on a varied diet.

2) There are two different schools of thought on this one. Some prefer to take the fry so as to maximise the yield and to try to safeguard againt losses. Predation by the adults is not something to worry about and shouldn't be a reason for taking the fry. Personally I prefer to leave them with the male, it's the way that nature intended it to be and in my oppinion it makes for healthier fry. It really is a personal decision at the end of the day as I have done both.

3) The type of rocks to use is really a personal choice, it's what fits in with your aquascape. It really will not have an impact on breeding, I would advise on some drift wood though so as to provide additional hiding places.

4) Again the colour of substrate is down to you. my only advice is not to have a very deep layer of substrate because of the possibility of noxious gas build up.

5) I would personally aim for the 150 ltr mark. Larger bodies of water make for more stable water parameters. You should also be looking at tanks with a large"foot print" as opposed to height, the floorspace is where these fish live. Plus there will be plenty of space for those babies.

6) I personally provide more caves than there are males, too few caves may cause too many territorial disputes. Seeing that you are planning on having one male it shouldn't be too much of an issue, females generally don't occupy caves. In addition to the caves plenty of alternative hiding places should be provided in the form of either drift wood or rocks/slate.

7) If you decide on plants then java fern/moss will be the easiest to grow in a zebra tank. Many other species will not be too happy with the flow rate and temperatures. There does not appear to be any plants in their wild habitat.

8 Not too sure what you mean here. My own tanks are typically 350 litres in capacity filterd by two external canister filters. Eheim thermo filter and Rena xp 3 plus 1200 ltr powerhead.

I can understand that you are anxious to get things right as they are an expensive fish that are hard to get hold of. In the meantime I suggest that you continue reading as much as you can about zebras.

Regards.

Adam

[McEve]

A very good answer from Adam there 2good4U! I'm sorry the article was a bit confusing, but you did understand it correctly You don't have to change all the parameters, change the one that easiest to change considering your water parameters so forth, that you already have. The flashing was partly a joke though, even though I have indeed heard of people doing it

I just wonder about plants in the wild... I'm sure I read somewhere about a sponge that especially the fry feed on in the wild?

Anybody else heard of this one?

[Mindy]

Just a note from my own experience - my first lot of babies, I raised separately but only because the male kicked the eggs out of the cave so I put them in a breeder trap and raised them myself. However, unknown to me, one of the fry had escaped the breeder trap and was living amongst the adults. It was at least a month before I saw it, and it was noticeably bigger than the fry that I was raising myself. Because of this, it seems to me, as Adam said, that the babies do better when left with the dad. I don't know what goes on, but they just seem to get bigger and stronger than fry raised away from the others. That is my experience anyway.

[McEve]

I don't know what goes on, but they just seem to get bigger and stronger than fry raised away from the others. That is my experience anyway.

And mine too. There is a thread about it somewhere, but this was ages ago and probably not easy to find