ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

Hi All,

First thanks everyone for all your help.. Never met a nicer group of helpful fish people!

Can someone give me a link from beginning to end of getting there Zebs?

or just post below mine..

Example:

bought ____ size tank
bought ______ Filter
bought _______ Heaters
Cleaned tank out.
added caves..
plants
put in ____ water.
fish arrived ___ days later
took fish from fed ex guy and did ______
Then____

i know this sounds funny but for all of us newbies it gives us the experince.. Its like getting your first baby..

make sure the tank is cycled, for that search or google nitrogen cycle or tank cycling.

not sure what you are asking but i bought all my stuff at one time and set it up. after that i cycled my tank and when that was done i went and searched for some zebras.

2ft tank running since January (also have 3ft that is not in use)

bought Fluval FX5 Filter (last month to retire my intenal filter)

bought 1 stainless steel shatterproof Heater + electronic thermometer with hi/lo temp alarm

Cleaned tank out.
added caves..
no plants & bare bottom

put in normal tap water. (Easier to keep constant, and also minimises the chance of pH crashes)

fish arrived in June.

travelled far to collect the fish, was excited all the way home!
Took forever to acclimatise them to my quarantine tank.

Couldn't sleep all night because I knew the next 24 hours were crucial. Alas they all survived and are now thriving and growing steadily. Photos in my sig, and some to be posted in the gallery soon.

Kevin,

Better be more specific in how many fish of what size you are going to keep in this tank, otherwise answers to your questions are impossible.

Not really lloking for specifics..

Just curios of what everyone did...

i hope to get several adults someday IF I can find then for sale..

Dream tank would be 55 gallon or 40 gallon breeder tank... Cycled first for a month... then when the PH levels and everything is ok.. Buy the fish.. Wait for them to arrive and them put them in teh tanks.. Bite my fingernails for the first 24-48hrs.. If they all survive breathe a sigh of relief!

Well you better get a good cycled tank ready then, preferably with some fish in it which you can easy relocate as soon as the zebs cross your path.

Good luck in your search.

i agree, keep fish of similar bio-load in the cycled tank till you find zebras and then replace or add to.

also i think over filtration on the zebra tank is a good thing.

Hi Kevin
I think I know what you're trying to ask & it would be a really useful resource article for us newbies!

I don't know if I did it right - but the folks here are great at helping so post away if I'm giving duff info here - but this is what I did.

2'x1'x1' glass tank that had breeding corys in & sponge filter.
Added power filter 1 week before Zebs were due (I had short notice!).
5 days before arrival, I removed corys, stripped interior (kept filter working in bucket of tank water with the plants & snail) cleaned tank, moved to quieter location, reassembled with new decore & tap water filtered through a HMA filter . Heated to 79F before I readded the filters & 2 x bactozym capsules & some plants. Added 2 buckets of the old tank water & 1x large apple snail.
Continued to raise temp to 81F . Tested water perameters following day - all ok so added 2 x neon tetra & posted pics to see what everyone thought.....removed gravel & replaced with finer grade, removed white rocks(as Zebs like dark ones), replaced with more slate & large piece of bog wood as advised.....waited for Zebs to arrive....

Collected Zebs, opened box in darkened room & gradually increased light so I could see them!
Verified that they were alive!
Put them in a bucket 3/4 filled with their transport water & trickled tank water into the bucket through some airline. Left for 20 mins. Emptied 1/2 water out & refilled with tank water as above. Repeated 4ish times.
Equalised the temp of bucket & tank, then released them into tank with the lights off. Added 1 small sinking food wafer & 2 flakes (for the neons).

Prayed!!

So what do I do next ? I was going to leave the lights off today - although the room light will be on later - & see what happens tomorrow.
I understand that the first 24-48 hours are the most critical so how can I help? How much food do I give them (3 juvinilles) how long do I leave food in before removing uneaten stuff?
Should I stop peering into the tank frightening them by trying to see them? - the trouble with giving them lots of hody holes is they...well...hide!
Any advise welcome!

Not really sure what there is to say:

1. Bought all the hardware. 2 tanks, 1 two-teir stand, heater, filter etc etc
2. 4 hour trip to Poole to pick up first two zebras.
3. 4 hour trip to Brighton to 3 more
4. 8 hour trip to Dorset to pick up another one
5. 12 hour trip to Manchester Airport to pick up two more which came from Germany.

Here's my story!
Decided I wanted Zebra's, started looking locally, no luck, had 20 gallon cycled tank ready to go, purchased power head and caves just in case. Found store selling Zebra's close to home, purchased online, waited for them to be shipped. I got the runaround from this guy for 2 months, still no Zebras. Filed claim with paypal. Won claim, no refund. Called police, after they rattled this guys chains a bit, he sent me a refund. Purchased 5 Zebra's on Aqua Bid, from a scammer, again lost money, no fish. I was determined I wanted some Zebra's so I kept trying. I purchased some from Exotic Finds, totally different experience. Blue is an awesome guy. In December, I finally got 3 beautifiul Zebra's shipped to Canada from New Jersey. They arrived in great shape. Decided since I went to all this trouble, they should have a prime spot in a cycled 58 gallon tank in my living room. It is a bare bottom tank with lots of caves and hiding places. I am using an Emperor 400 filter, a power head and a long bubbler. The Zebra's are all doing well.

lora wrote:Here's my story!
Decided I wanted Zebra's, started looking locally, no luck, had 20 gallon cycled tank ready to go, purchased power head and caves just in case. Found store selling Zebra's close to home, purchased online, waited for them to be shipped. I got the runaround from this guy for 2 months, still no Zebras. Filed claim with paypal. Won claim, no refund. Called police, after they rattled this guys chains a bit, he sent me a refund. Purchased 5 Zebra's on Aqua Bid, from a scammer, again lost money, no fish. I was determined I wanted some Zebra's so I kept trying. I purchased some from Exotic Finds, totally different experience. Blue is an awesome guy. In December, I finally got 3 beautifiul Zebra's shipped to Canada from New Jersey. They arrived in great shape. Decided since I went to all this trouble, they should have a prime spot in a cycled 58 gallon tank in my living room. It is a bare bottom tank with lots of caves and hiding places. I am using an Emperor 400 filter, a power head and a long bubbler. The Zebra's are all doing well.

Would that store near you happen to be AAA Aquariums? They screwed me over as well. Am out $300 and don't know what to do!

Canada Pleco, you've been pm'd