Everything you ever wanted to say about "Zebra luvin", but didn't because you thought everyone would take the mickey! Plus general topics for discussion including everything from what you feed them to your personal experiences.
Hi everybody! i'm going to buy 2/3 zebras, and when I buy them they will be like 3/4 cm, so they are little baby zebras ^_^. I buy them that small because they are cheaper then (about 120 euros) and my tank is only 70 litres, so when they grow bigger in 3/4 years I will put them in a bigger tank.
My question is for the people who have experience with baby zebras, because I want to know if there are any special things I have to pay attention to when I buy them, and when I keep them in my tank. Do they need any special/extra care (are they more sensitive when they are young and what is the ideal water quality)? And how old are 3/4 cm zebras?
If they're F1's, make sure they have a nose! There are som F1's with bullnose http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/viewtop ... t=bullnose Make sure theier fins are well shaped and proprotional to the body, and that the belly is round and nice. Ask what they're used to eat, and try to give them the food they're used to while slowly introducing the food you want them to eat, if it's different than what they're used to.
Make sure you spend some time acclimatizing them to the new tank, Zebras that small are more senesitive to enviromental changes than adults in my experience, generally speaking the ideal water quality would be as close to what they're used to as possible.
3-4 cm would be under a year old.
I'm sure the other members here will have aditional information for you as well
I found a few pics of a young zebra with a bullnose, owner Jeroentje is also a member of this forum I think. I thought all young zebras looked like this and that it will change later...
Lied wrote:I found a few pics of a young zebra with a bullnose, owner Jeroentje is also a member of this forum I think. I thought all young zebras looked like this and that it will change later...
Have a look at the thread I linked to my the first post, that will answer all your questions regarding this issue. And no, they don't grow out of it, it's a deformity
Allright I have another question , I have a juwel aquarium rekord 70 with an intern filter, and the capacity of the filter is not so much I think, is that bad for the zebras? I heard an extern filter is better, like an Eheim filter, but my filter is IN the aquarium so when I want an extern filter I have to think of a way to get the intern filter out of my aquarium...
I have removed the internal filter on a Juwel tank myself. The internal filter is silikoned in the tank with only 4 small dashes of silikon- 2 on each side. A long knife is all it takes to cut the silikon holding it in place.
Allriiiight good thank you! But...can you tell me how the filter works does it need an extra tank or something and I wonder if the filter is outside the tank how does it work where can you keep it? And are external filters expensive? How do you install such a thing, with the pipes and the hoses and stuff? I know I'm not such a nerd with technique heheh
I note that the zebras you intend purchasing are small, 3 to 4cm At that sort of size they can be prone to choking on certain types of food such as blood worm and shrimp. If you intend on feeding these foods I would suggest that they are finely chopped just to be on the safe side.
Allright thank you very very good tip. I still don't know if I'm going yo actually buy them, because I want to be sure that they stay alive because of they money I pay for them... if they die I'll flip out
I still don't know much about the filtration they need, I can make a strong current with my filter no problem, and I have an air bubble thing (don't know how 2 say it in English :p ) will that do?
I have another question, I own two ancistrus right now one 'normal' black ancistrus and an albino ancistrus, both dolichopterus. (bristlenoses ). Can they be kept with the zebs? Myself i think it's okay, because the ancistrus are algae eaters and the zebs eat bloodworms and stuff, so they won't compete for food. One is about 8 cm and the albino is about 2 cm. Do you think the zebs will get scared of the size 8 cm of the ancistrus or wouldn't there be problems?
In my experience Zebra plecs (as 2" fish) are quite tough. They can tolerate quite a few extremes if needed but this is certainly not ideal.
However, the one thing I would personally advise is don't allow your Zebras competition for food. They are quite timid bottom feeders so if you have other plecs in your tank Zebras, especially young ones, will suffer. One such plec I would specifically avoid is the bristlenose catfish. I have two albino bristlenoses in with my L134s and discus etc. The bristlenose will fight ANYTHING for food, and ALWAYS win. They will even rise up off the bottom to charge away the discus!
Basically, if you want to keep Zebras in A1 condition then I would personally advise no other plecs.
Allright...then I will keep only a group otocinclus with them for control of the algae, and schrimps and one huge applesnail and my 9 neontetra's. Or have you got any other ideas?
, I have a juwel aquarium rekord 70 with an intern filter, and the capacity of the filter is not so much I think, is that bad for the zebras? I heard an extern filter is better, like an Eheim filter, but my filter is IN the aquarium so when I want an extern filter I have to think of a way to get the intern filter out of my aquarium...
where can you keep it? And are external filters expensive? How do you install such a thing, with the pipes and the hoses and stuff? 
I know I'm not such a nerd with technique 
heheh
it's not all that complicated to set up an external filter - even mum can do it! 
