Need suggestion for Zebra L46 Tank

[wild]

I already introduce myself, so now I have few questions for experienced Zebra Pleco breeders.

In near future I going to buy few zebras, precisely 6-8 zebras.

So, my questions are:

1. what are the best dimension for my zebra tank, 6-8 zebras?
( is it better to be: deeper, wider, longer...? )

2. Is it better that I put them althogeter or to separate it to 2 of more tanks?
( I read that is better to be in group, but i rather ask one more time to check)

3. Is it better to have only glass on bottom or sand (granulation) or something else?



I really would like to make a good conditions for my zebra so thanks everone for answer.

and sorry for my mistakes in writing english


Regrads,
wild

[vanillarum]

Hey wild, welcome to the site. Let me begin by saying that I have only been keeping zebras about 4 months, so I am fairly new at it. That said, are the zebras that you are going to be getting adults ? You need much less space for younger fish than you do for adults, obviously. That said, if you are getting 6-8 adults, I would think you might want a tank of about 40 gallons (sorry, can't help you with the litre equivalent !)or more. I have 7 zebras (3 adults and 4 sub adults) in a 40 gallon breeder tank, that measures 36" long 18" wide, and 17" high. The important thing, especially if they are adults, is that you have enough caves for them. If the tank is big enough, I don't see a problem keeping them all together. As far as glass bottom or sand, I think that is up to your personal preference. I have a bare bottom tank, as do many others. But there are many others that have sand or gravel. I went with the glass bottom because that is what seemed to work best for the majority of the people I spoke with when I was doing my research. Whatever you decide, good luck. And feel free to ask as many questions as necessary. Again, welcome.

[wild]

No, I probably (certainly) get younger fishes.

I was thinkning about 360 litres/95 gallons and dimensions like 120cm x 60cm x 50cm high (47"x23"x19") and now I want to ask following:

1. When the Zebra Pleco are (very) young (and small) is it better to put them in smaller aquarium to easily find food?



p.s. vanillarum; You can use Google to convert between many different units of measurement of height, weight, and mass among others. Just enter your desired conversion into the search box and we’ll do the rest...example: "40 gallon in litre"; and you get: - 40 US gallons = 151.416471 litre...sorry for OT


regards,
wild

[twinspots_goby]

Are they really young. I would recommend smaller tank like 20 gallon if they are less than a year old.

[TwoTankAmin]

To some extent there is some wiggle room when chosing tank sizes. I have always had a need to go smaller rather than larger. So far it has worked out fine.

My breeder tank which holds 10 adults and, depending when, from as few as 15 to as many as 55 assorted size fry is a 30 gal. breeder tank. It is 36x18x13. However it has more cover in it than most folks with much bigger tanks. For growout I currently use 2x10 gal and a 15 gal.

Small zebras have no use for caves as they are too roomy. They tend to huddle together in groups in places into which anything larger simply wont fit. The love to wdge intio extremely tight spaces. As they start to reach 1.5 inch size and over, they begin to venture away from the group and you will find a few alone or in a small group. As they approach about 2 inches they tend to become more solitary and the males will start to try and claim a nice space or small cave as their own.

You are correct in thinking that when they are smaller that feeding as well as tank cleaning is a lot easier and more effective in a smaller size tank. As for going bare bottom or using substrate, this is really your choice. For the most part I go bare bottom but do have small gravel in one growout tank as I converted it fully cycled from being used for other fish to being a zebra growout tank. I didn't want to remove the gravel and the good bacteria it contained. The biggest advantage to bare is it is much easier to find/see the stuff that you need to vacuum up and then to do so.

[wild]

Thank You for answer.

Ok, with this informations I conclude that zebras dont need so much space and that it is much important (I talking about adult zebras) that they have many caves, am I right? ...but it is easyer to keep it clean...
So when they are young I can put it in 60 litres tank (16 gallons, and can use it after as breeder tank)?


- And please tell me, do they stay at the bottom all the time, or they somtimes go to middle or at the top of aquarium?

- Is it very important that they have strong circulation of water?


I was thinking about River-Tank Concept (I find a link on this forum) but on informations what I read I conclude that there is not need for something like that, only put a powerhead. ?
http://www.loaches.com/articles/a-river-runs-through-it


Thank You for answers.



P.S. short story
I dream about zebras about 3 years from time when I start with aquaristic apropos when I first time saw picture of them and then I say to my self: this fish I want in my aquarium.
The problem was money and another problem is that I cannot buy zebras in my country and I must go to another country to buy it, and now I decide it is time to buy it.
...enough waitting

regards,
wild

[TwoTankAmin]

A happy zebra is a hiding zebra, especially when it is not dark. For the most part they prefer to stay hidden/under cover. They do venture out, especially to look for food, but they tend to remain on the bottom. The are not free swimmers really at all.

When using a smaller tank, you must be sure to keep the water clean, especially for fry.

For the adults there is a tradeoff between the size of a tank and the amount of cover provided. The more cover, the less space one can get away using. However, there is a limit. Basically the fish must be able to have a space/territory they can claim. They also need adequate space/cover into which they can flee. Zebras will fight, often to the point of death. Therefore the "loser" must have a place it can retreat to in order to end such fights.

As for current, yes they need some. It is more important for adults and breeding than for raising fry. But they are built to live with flow. If the tanks has tons of cover, there will be spots that have more flow and others with less and the fish will choose where they want to be at any given time. For breeding, having current that blows across the entrances of caves is a good idea.