Hello everyone in zebraland!

[grokefish]

Hi my name is Matt and some may have already seen my mindless waffle on planet catfish.
Well I am here today not to waffle but to find out as much as I can about Zebras, as I am seriously considering getting some to keep in here.......

View from the kitchen

view from the living room
My questions are not about physically keeping them, but actually on where can I get some Zebras and are they still really expensive?
The last time I saw them in the flesh so to speak, was in a Maidenhead in Swansea and they were £200 each. Is this the normal price these fish? Anyway they all sold very quickly (I think they were sold before they arrived) and that was the end of that, I havn't seen them since.
At the time I wasn't interested in keeping them anyway.
However I am interested now and also in breeding them.
My questions are as follows....
Where can I obtain specimens?
What price can I expect to pay?
I would be buying five young specimens and would prefer them to be unrelated tank reared, what are the chances of that?
Are people taking care not to interbreed these fish to avoid the side effects?
Is this tank big enough for five? I have heard they can be a bit nasty to each other.
That is all for now
Thank you in advance for any information/opinions.
Matt

[sam]

Welcome

[John]

Welcome grokefish

Are people taking care not to interbreed these fish to avoid the side effects?

I am not

Is this tank big enough for five? I have heard they can be a bit nasty to each other.

Looks like it's big enough, how big is this tank?

For all other questions about availability etc. you must await an answer from members located in england as i have no clue

[grokefish]

4ftx2ftx18 inches with a 14" water hieght

[Stevie.K]

A big welcome

[smithrc]

Hello Matt - welcome to ZP.

I'm loving the setup our new house was going to have a large tank separating the lounge and dining room - 3 years on and the Mrs still insists that she still wants the French door there!

Tank size is fine (possibly on the big side if you want to see them )

Availability is ok - if your willing to pay the sometimes silly prices.

There are quite a few of us on here that are breeding them (I'm on of the newer one to get them breeding - 9 mounts so far)

price wise - you'll be looking at a budget figure of about £100 each for 1-1.5" juveniles. (you can get cheaper - but you can also get more expensive.

interbreeding is not a problem at this point. I have 5 unrelated adult wild zebs and non of the young are of an age to breed yet - and even if they were fish don't have the same problems as humans do when it comes to interbreeding - think of guppies - they are always at it! so your best bet would be to find a couple of people on here that are breeding and get 2 or 3 from each.

you'll get to know your fish after a while - its not until the start to mature that you'll get problems and with 5 (ish) in that tank you shouldn't have a problem. I've had issues in the past with 5 adults in a 130L - others have a dozen in a tank the same size and have multiple spawns happening - its all down to the fish