ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

Hello, what are people aims once they have breed these wonderful fish? is it for profit or like most of us just to see these fish do alright in the future? because this is a very big bandwagon to jump on i know at first i was draw in by the profit side of things but now gettin to know people who have then i realise it is so so much more to it than just " get them out the door" thought i would share a deep emotion on mine in here!

IMHO, I don't think that there is heaps of money to be made from breeding and selling zebras. If there was the far eastern fish farms would already be on the case. The problem is that zebras are not a prolific fish, if you get a couple from a spawn that make it to adulthood you're doing well. Then there's the fact that zebras are slow growers so any fry will have to be grown on for almost a year before being sold. Unless you have several breeding groups I can't see that breeding zebras would ever be profitable. The best you could hope for is to cover your overheads and your initial investment, if you're lucky. That said there are people making a bit out of zebras but you can hardly call it a regular income. I think that anyone that has got into zebras purely for profit may well end up being disappointed.

My aims, well to breed my zebras of course. Perhaps make a bit of money out of it, if not I don't really care. More importantly, for me anyway, is to secure the future of the zebra. Fame and glory perhaps, but for the time being I get immense enjoyment from just looking at and pampering my collection. I can't see much beyond that really, over the years I have kept a great many varieties of fish but nothing compares to the zebra. I still remeber my first ever zebra that I bought back in "91/"92, it use to be family event everytime he came out of hiding.

Just my personal thoughts on the subject.

Adam wrote:My aims, well to breed my zebras of course.

Ditto.

Adam wrote:Perhaps make a bit of money out of it, if not I don't really care.

Ditto again

Adam wrote:More importantly, for me anyway, is to secure the future of the zebra.

Ditto again again

Adam wrote:Fame and glory perhaps, but for the time being I get immense enjoyment from just looking at and pampering my collection.

Ditto again again again.

Sorry for being lasy......tis a hard day at work today

well said, one question what does prolific mean?

Main Entry: Prolific

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: fruitful

Synonyms: abounding, abundant, bountiful, breeding, copious, creative, fecund, fertile, generating, generative, luxuriant, productive, profuse, proliferant, rank, reproducing, reproductive, rich, spawning, swarming, teeming, yielding

Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1)

Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Excuse my lazyness again

Once again lame terms they do not breed alot? lol ( sorry having a blonde day! )

Well in comparison to a breeding pare of Convict cichlids (just add water) they are pretty "slow" breeders. In my case, I have had 2 spawns (both successful) and they were 12 weeks apart. Thinking again to a rapid spawner like the convict.....they could have had 4-5 spawns in that time.

Oh i see! hehe i like your explantion to the cichlids " just add water " lol

Dr. P

I've never seen such "Prolific" use of google""

This is a tricky one for me as I have mentioned before I am torn in two different direction.

I still get stick from my mates for setting up the site, in order to hopefully assist people in breeding the zebra. Their justificaiton being...."if everyone starts breeding them, it will flood the market and you will be able to pick them up for pennies". They don't seem to undertand that ti sin't that easy, and even if hundered of people manage to breed these fish, they will still be in high demand, it just means they are not required to be plucked from the wild.

On that note owever if I was to calculate how much it costs me to breed these little critters I would probably get a shock.

OK here is goes.

Food: £15.00 (per month)
Electric: £19 (per month)
Initial Set Up of Tanks etc £600
Initial outlay on fish £####### (this one is a secret incase my wife reads the forum)
Time: £240 (one hour a day minimum, @ say £8 an/hour)

Totaling around £4500...... give or take a grand!!!Ok OK i realise that a couple grand of this is time, and I would do it whether I was selling the fish or not, but it certainly adds up.

SO, as Adama and Dr.P said, it isn't something anyone can retire on, but hopefully it will cover it's costs!!!!!!!(or my wife might just kick my ass)

once again the big question is when you letting yours go Rob!

Remember Shells orininal "bum" post Rob

lol shhhh! i feel silly now lol

I'm sure if my bank manager knew I had them he would be making me sell them now...!!!!!!!!...until then.....watch this space!!!

Conservative as ever rob! lol i will be watching with eyes pealed cash at the ready and boyfriend ready to run up to scotland!!

Dr. P wrote:

Remember Shells orininal "bum" post Rob

Now I'm really curious as to what I missed while carrying buckets of water og cleaning sand LOL