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Zebra size & age rules

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:27 pm
by stickfly
Hi,
Sorry if this is covered somewhere but I have done a search & cannot find the specific info that I want : Does anyone have a rough guide to the size of a Zebra pleco for it's age.
I know they will all grow at different rates but there must be a rough way to know the age by the size until they are fully grown.
Or is there not :?
Perhaps some of the more experienced breeders here have notes on the size / growth rates etc of their fish ?

Regards ........... Gary

Re: Zebra size & age rules

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:23 pm
by TwoTankAmin
The grow slow and they spawn when they are ready. By that I mean there is now hard and fast rule, They will not spawn before thay are able, but they may not spawn when they are either.

While there are scattered report of breeding at less than 2 years, I finder 3+ is a better guide. bear in mind in the wild the smaller ones, even though able to spawn, will not be allowed to by the older fish. This enables them to gain size before they get to spawn and the bigger the female, the more eggs she can make. The same applies to the males, the fittest/strongest get to spawn.

I would look at about 2.5 inches as a guideline size wise for spawning. Of course, as you noted, there really are a lot of variables so it is hard to make hard and fast rules.

Re: Zebra size & age rules

Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:33 pm
by stickfly
Thanks for the reply.
I'm not too worried about the breeding side ...... My Zebra's are in my community aquarium with a selection of other fish, so if they breed it's up to them 8) .
I am just interested in how old mine may be. I bought 3 at 1.5 inches last October and 2 at 1 inch a month later. ( From different areas )
The 1st 3 are now about 2.5 inches and the other 2 are about 2 inches.
I was just hoping to be able to work out an approximate age for them. :)

Regards ............. Gary