20 gallon long (30"x12"x12") tank

[crazie.eddie]

I changed the setup here...



I setup a seperate shrimp only tank. I removed majority of the shrimps with the zebras, except for a few RCS (Red Cherry shrimp) and the otos. The bamboo, amano, and other un-ID'd fish (similar size as amano) were as big or bigger than the zebra juveniles, especially the bamboo shrimps. They also like to take over the zebra caves, which I figured would stress out the zebras in there.

I also moved the intake a little higher. When it was lower in the original setup, I would be concerned about food/waste and how difficult it would be to get to between the sponge and substrate in the old setup. I also raised up the output and pointed the spraybar towards the tank wall on the right to reduce the current. My zebras didn't seem to care whether or not they had strong current, but with the new setup, I can easily put the shaved bloodworms in front of the caves without having the current blowing them all over the tank.

You can see the a zebra peeking out of the cave on the far right and you might be able to see it's neighbor in the cave to the left of it.

I'm still experimenting with the setup and may move some of the plants around.

[eklikewhoa]

looks kinda like how mine is setup now, at least the positiioning of the caves.

i was wondering though, do you keep your lights on for a long period of time? i couldnt help but notice that you re-arrange your tank but your zebras still come out into the open(sorta). my little ones rarely come out and just chill in-between the slate that is stacked above the caves now. i only have the light on my tank on for a few hours a day probably around 2-3hrs and the parts of the light is blocked off the give it the subdued look.

tank is looking great btw!

[crazie.eddie]

Thanks. I don't like the plant arrangements, so I may move things around. The caves were made from some spare pieces I had, which is why you notice the caves are all kind of different shapes. These caves now have bottoms, as opposed to the ones I had when they zebs were in my BB tank. Those caves did not, since it made them easier for the zebras to just go inside the cave, plus I can easily clean/inspect the caves.

The lights are on a timer from 10am-10pm, I may cut them down. I used to keep the lights on less before. I would basically turn on the lights to leave some food in the afternoon, after sucking up the leftover food or fish waste leftover from the night before. Once I did that, I would turn off the lights again, leaving the room lighting to provide light for them. Then in the evening, I would suck up the left over food and fish waste again, keeping the lights on until the timer shut them off at 10pm. I wanted them to get used to the lighting interval of my timer.

I do notice that ever since I put them in their new setup, that there is a bit more activity. Maybe they are curious with their new surroundings or just feel more comfortable, since there's more activity from other creatures in the tank. I know nervous fish usually like to have dither fish to make themselves feel comfortable. If they DO NOT see any fish or movement outside, they may think there are predators in the area, which is why I'm using otocinclus as my dither fish and to help with any algae growth that arise.

[crazie.eddie]

I just want to add that I do see the zebs coming out at times but not too far from their caves. I also think one of the problems I had before in the old setup in my 10 gal BB tank was that...
1. There were only 2 fishes in the tank, and they were both zebs.
2. The tank was located in the bottom of the stand, so if I wanted to approach the tank, no matter how slow or carefull, the zebs could see my leggs and probably freak out and hide because of it. Now the tank is on the top shelf of the stand, so I can easily approach the tank and just have a small portion of my head show.


Also, I guess if my neighborhood looked like this...



I wouldn't want to come out either. LOL

At least with this setup now...


The neighborhood looks allot nicer for the zebs that they feel welcome to come out and say how to the neighbors.

[crazie.eddie]

I moved some plants around, angled the caves towards one direction, and removed the java moss. Here's what the tank looks like now...



Even with the move, the juvenile zebras (2 caves on the right), come out to see what's going on as you can see from the pic. Here's a closer look...

[crazie.eddie]

I like to add that the zebras seem more comfortable in this setting and do often come out more. I just fed some mysis shrimp, which I placed in front of their caves. I check it out later on and noticed allot of the mysis shrimp were gone and the zebras were out roaming around.

So I guess if you haven't seen your zebras eating anything else, they may feel unconfortable with their surroundings and only venture out to eat when starved. That is my assumption.