joining the tribe!
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 2:59 pm
Hi All!!
I just got a hold of 4 juveniles this weekend, 1 1/2 inches. They made it past 48 hrs, but I've got a ton of questions/observations for yall. Feel free to chime in with any advice. I've mostly done cichlids in the past so the this is still a learning process for me.
1)I tested the water my zebras came in and the pH was 7.0. I tested my tank and tap and it's 7.3-7.4. I rushed to petland discount and got pH down and managed to lower the water to 7.0 before putting the fish in. One day later the pH was back at 7.3-7.4. Must be some dissolved buffer in the water I'm not aware of. From what I'm reading the zebras should be ok in this range. Should I add some driftwood or peat moss to lower or buffer the pH lower? Should I not fuss over the pH that much?
2)All these fish do are hide!! I read on the board that a healthy zebra pleco is a hiding one, but cmon now. They act like cockroaches. Will they eventual acclimate to the tank and come out more? How do I know they are all eating? I've seen evidence of fish poop in the tank, but what if one isn't eating and I don't notice this? With cichlids I can always see who isn't going for food and then quarantine.
3)Feeding seems problematic. I put in frozen baby brine shrimp the first day, but not sure if they ate since alot looked like it got sucked into the filter. I turned off the filter, and the lights. Came back and no one touched the BBS. I tried frozen mysis shrimp, and this seemed to be better. Alot flew all over the place when I turned the filter back on, but there was less in the tank. Anyone have advice on how to feed Zebras without having the food fly all over the place when I turn the filter back on?
4)Zebra people seem to love foam pre-filters on all intakes. The guy I bought these from had foam on all his intakes. They seem to serve the purpose of collecting all the frozen flying food, so maybe the zebras eat from these. Anyone have bad experiences leaving the intake not covered with sponge? I currently have all intakes covered with sponge.
5)How are yall doing your water changes? With cichlids I emptied the tank with the python. Added dechlorinator, and then added water straight from the tap. Will this stress them? It would be a pain in the butt, but should I put the water first in a bucket, then add dechlor, then fill?
Thanks folks!!
I just got a hold of 4 juveniles this weekend, 1 1/2 inches. They made it past 48 hrs, but I've got a ton of questions/observations for yall. Feel free to chime in with any advice. I've mostly done cichlids in the past so the this is still a learning process for me.
1)I tested the water my zebras came in and the pH was 7.0. I tested my tank and tap and it's 7.3-7.4. I rushed to petland discount and got pH down and managed to lower the water to 7.0 before putting the fish in. One day later the pH was back at 7.3-7.4. Must be some dissolved buffer in the water I'm not aware of. From what I'm reading the zebras should be ok in this range. Should I add some driftwood or peat moss to lower or buffer the pH lower? Should I not fuss over the pH that much?
2)All these fish do are hide!! I read on the board that a healthy zebra pleco is a hiding one, but cmon now. They act like cockroaches. Will they eventual acclimate to the tank and come out more? How do I know they are all eating? I've seen evidence of fish poop in the tank, but what if one isn't eating and I don't notice this? With cichlids I can always see who isn't going for food and then quarantine.
3)Feeding seems problematic. I put in frozen baby brine shrimp the first day, but not sure if they ate since alot looked like it got sucked into the filter. I turned off the filter, and the lights. Came back and no one touched the BBS. I tried frozen mysis shrimp, and this seemed to be better. Alot flew all over the place when I turned the filter back on, but there was less in the tank. Anyone have advice on how to feed Zebras without having the food fly all over the place when I turn the filter back on?
4)Zebra people seem to love foam pre-filters on all intakes. The guy I bought these from had foam on all his intakes. They seem to serve the purpose of collecting all the frozen flying food, so maybe the zebras eat from these. Anyone have bad experiences leaving the intake not covered with sponge? I currently have all intakes covered with sponge.
5)How are yall doing your water changes? With cichlids I emptied the tank with the python. Added dechlorinator, and then added water straight from the tap. Will this stress them? It would be a pain in the butt, but should I put the water first in a bucket, then add dechlor, then fill?
Thanks folks!!