ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

I am just about ready to place an order for five 1.5 inch zebras. Will this be enough to eventually get a breeding group going? With five I know that I am very likely to at least have both sexes but I have been reading about people using larger groups.
How long can I expect it to take for these to get to an adult size assuming they are being fed properly?
Thanks for any info.

There is no guarantee regarding sexes. if you were getting 5 wild fish I would say it would take some luck to insure at least one female. This has to do with their habits and how they are collected. Way more males than females get captured. With tank raised fish the odds are more in one's favor in terms of getting a mix of sexes. It is hard enough to sex adults let alone juvies.

To spawn them only requires one of each sex. With groups there are advantages and disadvantages. That said, A lot of what will determine how large a colony one can have is a function of the tank size. By that I mean area. The fish are territorial and if one over crowds, it can impede rather than promote successful spawning.

Thanks for the tips. I put my order in last night for 5 so hopefully it will work out eventually. They are definitely tank bred so assuming zebras produce a 50/50 sex ratio when breeding that should give me about a 97% chance of having at least one of each sex.
These are all just over an inch so it will be a while before I have to worry about it anyway I guess.

Hey Jsvand5

I seent you a PM

Thanks
BrianR