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Yesterday I found tracks in the root I keep with one of my groups, the same one that is on the webcam.

There's nothing but Zebras in that tank, the endlers moved out 3 weeks ago. So, anybody else noticed if they eat bogwood? And why do they do it? Starvation? They are rather fat, so I find that hard to believe.... but you never know, so I keep that option open. Do they need the fiber?

Any ideas?

I think they need it a little. They are obvious a lot more carnivorous then the other plecos, but also still show some common pleco feeding habits.

I also caught my ones gnawning at algues now and then, and they also appreciate some spinach and cucumber.

Hi McEve

I have a little bogwood in one of my tanks, and I have seen some of the smaller fish rasp on it from occasion. As yet I have not seen any of the adults do so.

The younge that have done this are about 1 year old, and about 4cm long. They are all well fed, and relatively tame. Not sure if it is a requirement or just a preference.

Is it just in the one place, and does it look like it has been carried out by an adult?

Considering the amazing food you make up for them I doubt it will be a deficiency in anything.

Rob

A couple of my Zebras will rasp on the wood in my tank. Like McEve's, mine are nice and podgy so I doubt that it has anything to do with starvation. More than likely its down to being a digestion aid for the fish.

Don't know if this helps, but I know that fish like Ancistrus (bristlenose catfish), which do eat algae as well as everything else, MUST have bogwood for roughage. They scrape the softened wood and it provides them with essential fibre for their digestion. I would have thought that the Zebra would have similar needs, even though it's not an algae eater as such. Does that sound logical?

Thanks for all your feedbacks. It does look like it's an adult who's done this, the size of the trail fits an adults mouth. And yes, there are several other patches where I can see fresh wood.

I'm inclined to believe it's for digestive purposes, but was surprised to see they did it all! I've never seeen it before, and everywhere you look it says they don't need bogwood. Guess this is yet another case of the fish and me not reading the same books

Thanks again

I got the impression that this forum is gathering more knowledge about the secret life of the zebra then any author has written down till now.

Cascudo wrote:I got the impression that this forum is gathering more knowledge about the secret life of the zebra then any author has written down till now.

hm.., not so sure about that

I have recently changed my setup around and now have a setup that comprises mainly of bog/drift wood. Whilst I have not noticed any marks on the wood yet I know that the zebras are definately having a go. I find a lot of wood chippings lying around the tank and their droppings are a lot darker in appearance.

I will be changing the setup again soon, splitting them up between two other tanks. I'm planning on having some bog wood in each tank now as they do appear to eat it. I doubt that zebras actually need wood in their diet as they are mainly carnivorous and as such would have shorter intestines than herbivorous plecs such as royals. Having a shorter gut would lead me to think that they are less likely to get much nutrition out of eating wood. It is also unlikely that they would come accross drift wood in their natural habitat, this would also suggest that it is not a dietary requirement. That said they do appear to eat it so I would be inclined to provide it in a set up.

Adam wrote: I doubt that zebras actually need wood in their diet as they are mainly carnivorous and as such would have shorter intestines than herbivorous plecs such as royals.

isn't that funny, I was asked today if I knew how long their intstines were compared to algae eaters. To cut a long story short if you wonder how on earth somebody would come to ask me this question - in the Aqualog Zebras have the symbol of algae eaters next to it.

I said I didn't think so, and was asked if I knew how long their intestines are. Do we know? How long they are I mean.

My goodness, if somebody told me 3 years ago I'd be speaking of Zebra-intestines one day.....

Hi McEve,

I really don't know how much longer a zebras intestines would be compared to that of a say a royal. I would expect a hebivores intestines to be quite a bit longer than that of a carnivore as plant matter is a lot harder to digest as a general rule regardless of species fish or otherwise. I have read that the reason for this is that plant matter is lower in nutritional value than meat and therefore a longer retention time is required in order to aid digestion, hence the longer gut. Some animals such as cows and goats even have multiple stomachs to help with digestion. If I remember correctly herbivorous animals even have different digestive enzymes to help with breaking down plant matter.

WOW! you guys really do know your stuff, i thought that question would of been left un answered for aged! lol ( as someone said in a post i was reading today " NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE ZEBRA BREEDER/OWNER " )

hmmm I was just wondering if it's known wether they are indeed shorter....

There's a white paper somewhere on my HD, the scientific desciption I belive. I'll see if I can find it.

Shell231 things do generally get answered pretty quick around here but not always.

McEve, I will also try and dig something up if I can. I'm pretty sure that I read something about this on PC ages ago.

I get the impression that eating bogwood is for roughage more than nutrition. And if you eat a high protein diet (any Atkins people out there?) you definitely need roughage to help it through. Even carnivorous animals like dogs and cats need a certain amount of vegetable matter/roughage for their digestion. I believe in the wild this would mainly come from the stomach contents of their prey (like say, a mouse or rabbit). So it's just a small amount, but still an essential element in their overall nutrition and digestion.

Do you think this would follow to fish as well?