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well picked up my first three zebs yesterday afternoon about 2 yrs old everything went ok putting them in tank and they went stright into hiding,i set my powerhead to switch off for 3 hrs at night and 3 hrs in morn to corrospond with feeding so food isnt getting thrown around everywhere giving them a chance to get it,anyway fed them mysis last night then had sleepless night thinking i might lose them, checked on them in morn and theyre fine all hiding under a flat slate cave, put a few hikari carnivour pellets in and left them be but just gone up to check them and they dont seem to have moved atall also dont seem to have eaten any of mysis or pellets is this normal for a new enviroment for them??? any info appreciated

Congrats on your new zebs

Give them a few days to loose the stress and get used to their new environment

It took mine at least a month before they would come out and eat with the lights on, maybe longer. Now I feed them every other day, like all my fish, and they are out as soon as the food hits the bottom of the tank. They'll settle in. You just need to try and relax-I know, easier said than done ! Good luck.

thanks for the reply both appreciate it but just went to check on tank and one zeb is now in one of the caves i have in the tank so at least i know theyre moving about abit and getting food

Hi congratulations on the zebras. if one is already caving in maybe a male.

Would any of the experts say so?

I certainly don't consider myself an expert, if the fish stays in the cave almost exclusively, it probably is a male. But sometimes the females will hang out in caves, although not like the males. I have 3 adults that I am certain are males, and they are in caves, tails wagging, 24/7. I have a couple of sub adults that are in and out of caves, and I am hoping they are females, but time will tell !

I also noticed that some stay in as you said but others just guard the entrance of the cave while others are all the way in. An only one "my biggest male" will face out.

Interesting....