Hi from Australia

[Ev]

Hi to everyone,
I have been reading through your forum for the last week and found a lot of usefull information. I have a 4 ft freashwater fish tank setup and in a weeks time I will be getting some Zebra Plecos. I want to now everything I can before getting these fish to make sure I have everything right. Any advice is welcome.

[Dr. P]

Hi Ev and Welcome to the forum, I am sure you will enjoy your stay. How bouts a little run down on the tank your going to be putting your Zebras? Filtration, Stock, maintainence etc.

[Adam]

Hi Ev and welcome to the forum.

As Dr P has said a run down of the setup you want to put the zebras in will be helpful, it will make offering advice a whole lot easier.

Hope you enjoy your time here .

Adam

[Ev]

Hi Dr.P,
Thanks for you time to write to me.
The tank has been set up for at least 4 years with many differnet tyes of fish with only 3-4 corner unit filter's.

A week ago I took out most of the fish and put in a Fauval 304 multi stage filter. I have live plants, plastic plants and black gravel with some assorted ornaments. I left the pleco, sydontas and some tetras in the tank to keep it going untill I get the Zebra's. I have tested the Ammonia level today and it is 0. I also have a Fluval 4 plus sponge filter that I plan to put inside the tank as well but don't know where?. I clean out my tanks at least once a week, feed my fish frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrip, pellets and flakes. I also plan to grow baby brine shrip to feed baby fish. I thinks that's all, if there's anything else you need to know please ask.

Regards
Ev

[Dr. P]

Hi Ev, sounds like a great start to a Zebra home. IMO, dissolved oxegen is the most important thing for L46, so you may want to consider an air pump in addition to what you already have.

The fluval 304 is a good addition..I actually use one myself on a different tank...and as a main source of filtration, these work well. This coupled with the Fluval 4 plus will be ideal, giving 2 reliable forms of filtration. The fluval 4+ also comes with the venturi valve so this will aid aeration too.

If it were me, I'd add a air pump (external or internal) running a sponge filter...for that little bit more filtration and added aeration.

As far as decoration goes....the substrate choice is good. Zebras love to dig in the sand foriging for food etc.....the black sand should give you a nice looking contrast to the white of the zebras...should look really cool. Make sure you provide plenty of hidy holes and caves so the Zebras feel comfortable and have a safe place to reside. Decor in the form of slate, slate caves, pvc pipes, bog wood and rocks works for me.

When you say 4ft tank, what is the volume of the tank....I have a 4ft 30Gallon but you can get a 55Gallon 4ft tank for example.

[Rob]

Hi Ev

Welcome to the forum, and good to see you're doing your homework before you get the fish!! The tank set-up sounds good, and Adam and Dr. P seem to have covered a fair amount to start with.

Have you already sourcesd some zebras, if so your biggest hurdle is getting them to acclimatise. If they are wild caught fish, then they need to be watched very carefully as they tend to forget about eating due to fear. This is especially true if there are nay other inhabitants int he tank. Are the syno and other plec going to be removed prior to you getting the zebras?

If you are picking them up from a breeder, then they shoul dbe just fine.

Have fun.

Rob

[Ev]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for support so far.
The tank is a 4 ft 160 litre tank and when I get the Zebra's I will take out all the other fish that are still in the tank. I'm getting the fish shipped to me from Sydney Australia from a breeder, it's taken me about 6 months to find some one who has these fish but I love the look of them and they are also endangered in their natural habitat.

Where should I put the Fluval 4 plus? At the same end as the Fluval 304 or at the other end of the tank. Also what type of Airpump should I use?, I have exteral mouse Airpumps & Airstones will that be alright?.
I've read somewhere in your forum that you can build slate caves for the Zebra's, how do I go about doing this?.
Do I need black sand as I have black gravel and how thick should it be?

Thanks to everyone who has helped me out.

Regards
Ev

[Adam]

Hi Ev, glad to see that you are finding the forum useful .

I'll try to answer your questions if I can.

Place the Fluval 4+ and the Fluval 304 at the same end of the tank so that you get a good current going mainly in one direction.

The air pumps you have should be just fine as you will only have 4 zebras in a 160Ltr tank. With that sort of stocking ratio oxygen depravation is highly unlikely.

Here's a thread about making slate caves:

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/viewtop ... sc&start=0

If you must have a substrate I would go for the black sand. Avoid gravel due to uneaten food getting trapped in it and rotting. The sand should be no more than 1 to 2cm in depth any deeper and there is a risk of toxic gas build up which can kill fish. A few here have bare bottomed tanks.

I hope this helps.

Adam

[Ev]

Hi and thanks for the info,
SORRY FOR ALL THE QUESTIONS, JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE.

I'm getting 6 Zebra plecos will they do alright in the 4ft 160L tank?
I will get a larger tank for then once their established themselves. I will also take out the gravel and have the tank as a bare bottom untill I move them in the larger tank and then I will use black sand. Also whay type of lighting should I use for them? and what size caves should I build?
Thanks to the Zebrapleco Commuinty forum.

Regards
Ev

[Dr. P]

Hi Ev

I recon the 6 zebras would be cool in the 160 never mind a bigger tank. I have my zebras in a 3ft 100L tank and they seem very happy and content..they all have their territories amonst the wood, rocks and caves.

Here's a couple of links that you may find helpful regarding the caves.....

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23

http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=93

[Adam]

Hi Ev,

No worries about the questions, I fully understand you wanting to do things right. Believe me I would be asking even more questions if I had to pay the prices that you guys do for zebras.

The 6 zebras should still be fine in you 160ltr tank. A bigger tank for them will not be necessary a colony of 6 should be have ample room in the existing tank. Bigger of course would be better but it is not essential. You could add an extra external canister filter, not that it's needed, just to be extra careful if you do go for the bigger tank. If you decide to have the sand remember to have a depth no more than 2cm. As for lighting zebras are really not fussed, the lights would be more for your viewing pleasure than the zebras. Grolux, Triton, Florasun any of these will do. Bear in mind that zebras live in fairly deep waters in the wild and as such they would not be accoustomed to bright lights unless of course yours are tank raised. I only keep my lights on for about 3 hours in the evening and that's only so that I can see the fish that I spent a small fortune on.

Here's a post by McEve that gives the dimensions of the caves, by the way her zebras have bred. Post number 6 on this page


Regards.

Adam

[az1]

Hi Ev

Welcome. Couple of questions for you.

Whereabouts in Aus are you? How much are you paying for your 6 zebra's?

Cheers

Andreas

[Shell231]

I have heard they are really expensive in aus? this this true?

[Ev]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the advie on lighting/caves etc.
I live near Melbounre, Victoria and I paid $630 a Zebra Pleco . I know it's expensive but I couldn't help myself, I love fish.
Now I'm just making sure I have the tank setup right for them.

Regards
Ev

[Shell231]

how many did you get for that?!!!!!!! wow that is so expensive!!