Starting from the very beginning.

[BigPlans]

Hi there Zeb world,

Bought a nearly full grown male zeb from a guy in London (found on ebay) at the weekend. He's currently sharing a tank with 10 SA cichlids. I've been reading up like mad for the last few days. So am planning to setup a Zeb tank ASAP with long term aim of growing a collection, breeding, selling and of course enjoying.

I'm going to get a 3 foot by 1 by 1 (approx 125 litre I think) tank. Get an Eheim Pro 3 with 1,000 litre per hour filtration and a 500 litre per hour powerhead.

I'll run the new filters in my cichlid tank for a couple of weeks to get them going then fill the new tank with the same water on first setup. Put together some slate caves,structure, nothing else in the tank. And chuck him in.

Might put some plastic plants in to take away the harsh look. Not really thought about lighting. Might put some neons/similar in, and some shrimpys. Will make sure PH is ok and look into getting an RO processor at a later date.

Any big mistakes with my plan? Anything any of you would have done at the beginning if you had the chance again??

Thanks for any advice you have the kindness to pass on.

[Ouscazz]

Seems like a good plan!

But why bother using R/O water.?.
I did it before but are now using Hydrochloric acid (HCI) to reduce KH. I fill up a barell with simple tap water, adding small amounts of HCI and put in an air stone for 24 hrs to get rid of excessive CO2. CO2 is the only "waste" product in this process by the way. Be sure to measure pH before water change to be certain CO2 in fabricated water is at the correct level.

My testings has shown that 4ml (30%) HCI in 100L tap water will reduce KH with 1 degree. But that is MY water, allways test to see how YOUR water react with the acid .

KH 3-4 will - from what I've learnt - be good for keeping zebras and will keep your water at ~pH7.

[BigPlans]

Your comments on the following would be greatly appreciated;

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FISH IS NOT YET IN THE TANK!

He's in a cichlid tank next door at the mo eating Tetra Prima (discus).

The combination of the 2 filters seems to create a great flow at the bottom and surface movement at the top. My only worry is if they will be scared of all the bubbles from the Powerhead, any ideas?

I'm going to switch the 2 air stones for one of the blue ones and weight it (if required) near the back of the tank. The air pump doesn't seem to put much through to these 2 and I broke one of them yesterday.

I've filled the new tank with 25-30% water from my Cichlid tank the rest tap water with tapsafe, and squeezed a filter sponge ( a real mucky one) from the cichlid tank filter into the new tank a couple of days later. Temp is up and fine.

I like the look of cherry red shrimp and Apistos? (Cockatoo cichlids) as tankmates and I'm thinking of sticking 4 of these cichlids in the tank at the weekend to get it going. then I think Chris the Zeb can go in a week after.

There's no lighting, no direct sunlight and the tank is on the floor out of sight next to the dining table. I'm going to fix together something to make it look like a piece of designer furniture that just happens to have a tank in it as we have a small flat and I don't want it looking like a pet shop.

I'm thinking of getting some caves and stuff from Jo's Zebs who's a moderator on here. Does anybody know if he's trustworthy?

That's all i can think of for now. Cheers for any info/advice, back soon.

[John]

I'm thinking of getting some caves and stuff from Jo's Zebs who's a moderator on here. Does anybody know if he's trustworthy?

Jo is a SHE and yes you can trust her

[BigPlans]

Thanks for the advice there matey.

[Jo's Zebs]

A load of bogwood in there would look cool and give the zeb some hiding places with a few caves dotted around

[BigPlans]

Rightyho,

I think Ill be placing an order shortly.

Can anyone please comment on the following;

my male is out if the cichlid tank and in the new one above with 4 apistos. He's taken residence next to the canister filter outtake on the glass so I've been having a good look at him. He sems to have some dark marks on the underside - a but like moles, only 3 or 4 - us that normal and also his rear pair of fins are slightly raged I.e. Not a perfect straight line across the backedge, I've seen all other fish Ive kept grow these out easily by themselves but then again they didn't cost £200 each. Is the fraying anything to worry about?

Thank you

Sam

[jerry58]

Hi BigPlans

IMO the ragged fins are probably due to scuffles before you brought him and in transportation with good food and good water conditions should get better in a short time.
The fish in the pic above in the bag is in good condition and I would expect the mole type marks on the under side to be possibly natural coloring or marking but to be on the safe side I suggest you post a pic on here and some one will be able to confirm what they are.
BTW nice fish

Jerry

[BigPlans]

Thanks very much for those comments Jerry that's set ne at ease a little.

Where abouts in Kent are you based? I think the tap water would be pretty much the same so if you have any tips on how you treat your water it would be a great help with all the information I have to process.

[jerry58]

Hi
All my adult fish are in the breeding tank and the water is set up for
breeding using RO water(softer water to help the condition of the eggs).
For your fish which don't require those conditions at the mo.
You would be able to keep your fish up to wanting to breed them,in your tap water,I keep ALL fry from 2 weeks old and eating in tap water other than adding Aqua Safe they are perfectly ok in it and doing fine.
No point in changing something if you don't need to.

Tap water in my area is.
Ph 7.8
Gh 12
Kh 10
Not much more can say realy.

Jerry

[BigPlans]

Hi guys

I've corguette floats so Ive just put some in weighted down with'Big 10' Lead Weight. Is that safe for them to feed from or indeed to be in their tank at all?

Thanks

Sam

[BigPlans]

Sorry peeps, another bit of beginner stuff;

Just measured the tank to give;

PH 8.2
GH 20
KH 6.6

So whatever's going on in my tank is taking the numbers slowly in the wrong directions. Does anyone have any advice?

I'm going to measure them tomorrow before taking any action to get the exact scale of these movements. The tank has only been setup a couple of weeks but I've transfered as much beneficial bacteria and water from my established cichlid tank as possible to kick start all the stages of the cycles.

Thanks

Sam

[jerry58]

Hi

IMO
There is 4 things most important to water chemistry for fish that is....
1. Big fluctuations in Ph (stress for fish)change no more than .1 in 24 hours
2. Kh does not drop below 2 (unstable water)
3. Temperature (This is tailored to your fishes needs and breeding)
4. Gh (This is tailored to your fishes needs breeding ect) but not a critical.

As we look at your water measurements they seem to be high but not ideal. I think this is due to the water you put in from your cichlid tank was probably near to what it is now.
Probably putting something like bogwood and a few water changes over a period of time will bring the Gh and Ph down safely.

Jerry

[BigPlans]

Hi Jerry,

thanks again for the advice, it's starting to seem more like counselling now. Anyway you'll be pleased to hear I have another query, I'm just a bit worried about his eating habbits;

How long should the Corguette be in there before I take it out?

Most of the tetra prima and bloodworm I've put in seems to get blown around and ends up stuck to the foam Ive put around the canister filter outtake at the bottom right. Will he be finding this at night and having a nibble if he's hungry? Or should I look at adjusting the current to create a whirlpool where food gathers in the middle and stays there?

Finally, Ive added 2 Almond Tree leaves and 2 small bits of planted bogwood to gradually combat the increasing Ph and GH, and also 4 little caves. Will the carbon in the filter counteract these attempts to leach acid into the water? I was thinking of adding some crushed coral to the filter to raise the KH. Would the coral cancel anything out to give more problems?

As always any comments gratefully received!

[jerry58]

Hi
Corguette can be left in say a day to over night as the temp of the water is higher in zeb tanks than some other tanks this causes it to cook a lot quicker thus fouling the water.
I don,t feed my zebs this for that reason but you can do so just keep an eye on it.
You could find another alternative to it another veg I feed mine Nutrafin Max spirulina flakes,Tetra Pro vegetable, and any type of veggie pleco tablets that can be slightly crushed.
I to when first started to have zebra plecs worry about them feeding I can laugh at it now but I actually turned off my power head for 2 hours on a timer at night seems good idea at the time but not needed .
You will get food stuck on the pump just indicates to me its working well and doing its job.
No don't worry about him feeding he will get the food just keep an eye on the general condition of the fish over short time and it should be ok.
The fish is probably getting used to the new tank just give it time to settle in.I never see my zebs feeding now at all.
I'ts probably better to leave the tank it as it is at the mo.
See what the water parameters are and then maybe change stuff in the filter at a later date if needs be,their will be to much going on .

BTW my counseling prices are £25 per reply pay at the end of the sessions. £100.00 so far. LOL


Hope this helps

Jerry