ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

Thought this would be interesting info. - especially to those of us who are new to keeping Zebras - as I suspect it may show that a lot of different conditions work. Anyway I'll start off:

Tank size L/W/H 24"/12"/12"

Temp. 31.5 - 32C

ph 6.0 -6.4

Gh 1 - 3

Kh 0

Nitrate >25mg/l

Substrate bb

No. of Zebras 3

Age 21mths, 17mths, 17mths

No. of spawns 0 Of which successful 0

Other tank inhabitants 1x apple snail

Fishkeeping experience 20yrs

Zebra keeping experience 3mths

Filter Eheim ecco 2234 + Fluval 2

Food Tetra tabimin, Nutrafin sinking pellets, McEves homemade mix, frozen daphnia

Water changes Bi-daily removal of uneaten food, 20% weekly, Monthly 'scrub out'

Cant think of anything else to add but if you can then feel free.
If enough people add their details I'll compile the results so we can see if anything useful comes of it!

Tank size L/W/H - 84x36x46 - 120L (ish)

Temp. 27ºC

ph - around 6.0
Gh - not known at the moment
Kh - not known at the moment
Nitrate - not known at the moment

Substrate - Dark Sand

No. of Adult Zebras - 5 (and one juvenile)
Age - All 5 years + (except the juvenile)
No. of spawns 1 - Of which successful 1 - 15 fry (4 weeks old)

Other tank inhabitants : 4x LDA25 - 20+ Pygmy Corys - 2 amano shrimp

Fishkeeping experience - nearly 20yrs

Zebra keeping experience - 13mnts

Filters - Fluval 4+ with Hydor Flo attachment - Aquaclear 301 power head with sponge pre filter

Food - Tetra prima, Hikari sinking wafers, Hikari algae wafers JMC Catfish pellets and high protein granules, frozen bloodworm

Water changes - Bi-daily 10% since spawn (7 weeks without a single change before the spawn!)

Lucy wrote:If enough people add their details I'll compile the results so we can see if anything useful comes of it!

There is something in the pipeline which will give all of this and more

Tank size L/W/H 30x12x12 inches

Temp. 85-87f

ph 7.4-7.6

Gh 7-8ppm

Kh 5-6ppm

Nitrate 5-10ppm

Substrate Thin fine sand layer

No. of Zebras 5

Age ~2yrs

No. of spawns 0 Of which successful 0

Other tank inhabitants 1x Amano shrimp and mts

Fishkeeping experience 14-16yrs

Zebra keeping experience 1yr

Filter Eheim 2213 + oddysea ~200gph powerhead/sponge

Food Hikari sinking carnivore pellets/algae wafer, omega veggie rounds/shrimp pellets, NLS growth/H20 tablets,

Water changes 40-50% weekly

Plastic Mac wrote:

Lucy wrote:If enough people add their details I'll compile the results so we can see if anything useful comes of it!

There is something in the pipeline which will give all of this and more

Sounds intriging - can you say more or will the thread then self destruct in 5 secs?

Unfortunately not lol...mum is the word. Just make sure you keep your eyes peeled

Lucy wrote:
Gh 1 - 3

Kh 0

If your fish is very young you should harden your water

McEve wrote:

Lucy wrote:
Gh 1 - 3

Kh 0

If your fish is very young you should harden your water

McEve - yes I know, I'm working on it - thanks again for the links & info

Tank size L/W/H 24x14x14 inches

Temp. 29 C

ph 7.2

Gh 7-8ppm

Kh 4-5ppm

Nitrate 5-10ppm

Substrate None

No. of Zebras 9 adults ,think around 11 babies

Age. adult? babies 2 weeks to 6 months

No. of spawns 2

Tetra 120 + wet and dry filter on top of tank

Food Hikari sinking carnivore pellets/Hikari goldfish sinking pellet/Tetra Bits

Water changes 40-50% weekly

Tank sizes: 30Breeder, 10 gal and 15 gal for fry growout.

Temp range: 83-86F

ph 7.4

Gh 6dg

Kh 5dg

Nitrate: I do not test. Past experience in tanks is under 20ppm

Substrate 30B and 10 are bare, 15 has small gravel.

No. of Zebras: 11 breeders, 2 spare adults and currently about 60-70 assorted fry.

Age Range: 6 weeks to 7+ years

No. of spawns: 20 Of which successful 20

Other tank inhabitants none except for the 2 adult spares which are in with a discus duo.

Fishkeeping experience 7+ yrs

Zebra keeping experience 4+ years

Filters: H.O.T Magnum, AquaClear 150, PH for breeder tank, 10 growout AquaClear 150 and sponge, 15 growout AquaClear 150 and 100. Discus tank sponge and AquaClear 150.

Foods: Only adults get frozen blood worms; all get frozen cyclop-eeze, Daphnia and BBS; AquaDine wafers; earthworm sticks; flake; spirulina w/ garlic flake; Hikari sinking wafers; FD Cyclops; FD Brine Shrimp, NLS Grow.

Water changes: Breeder tank 40-50% once a week, fry tanks 40% at least once and normally twice a week. Vacuuming performed with water changes and often mid week as well.

I have kept a pretty detailed account of my experiences breeding at http://www.fishaholics.org/ in the catfish section. This site belongs to Barbie who is a Moderator here.

Here's mine.

Tank size L/W/H 30"/12"/12"

Temp. 82-84

ph Don't test

Gh Don't test

Kh Don't test

Nitrate Don't test

Substrate - course sand

No. of Zebras 4 (1 male 3 females)

Age Wilds

No. of spawns - over 15 Of which successful - same

Other tank inhabitants - none

Fishkeeping experience 30yrs

Zebra keeping experience 2 years

Filter HOT magnum just for circulation, sponge over intake.

Food -Blood worm, sinking pellet, golden pearls

Water changes - once every 2 weeks 10-20% with dechlored tap water

It's important to test Nitrate, try to keep below 15 ppm. Fine sand is much better than coarse, if you decide to keep sand in the tank, as it's much gentler on the Zebs tummy when they dig in it.

I also feed blood worms, but not too often, as there really isn't too much nutrition in it compared to the amount a Zebra is able to take in. They are small fish, and their tummies aren't very large. They aren't able to eat too many at a time. Still, once in a while it's good for diet variation.

Depending on the type of filtration, a swamp would mean less need for WC, with ordinary ecternal filters weekly WC is a good idea.