ZebraPleco.com • The complete Hypancistrus zebra resource

I was wondering do zebs eat it?

Mine doesn't seem to be eating at all i place food right by his cave he comes out before lights out and puts his nose inside the cave, but i am so worried about this i count how many ( king british catfish pellets ) i put in, are these carnivore things? sorry for the wording of it.

But as i was saying he doesn't touch any of that for sure and i dont think he eats any bloodworm or tetra prima, can someone please suggest another food please!!!

hi Shell231,

Zebras are carnivorous, so cucumber is not on their top 10 food list !!!!!! Have you asked the previous owner, what it was fed on?
I feed a variety of foods including JMC high protein food, JMC catfish pellets, Tetra prima, King British Flake, And home made frozen mix made with mussels, prawns and spinach.
Remember with a lot of these foods, it is very easy to pollute the tank as the foods dissappear into the gravel , if gravel is used.
Prior to using the home made mix, I was using Frozen whole mussel. You could try that. Just put a frozen mussel ( or a half) in the tank, it will thaw and then sink.Remember to remove remnants the next day.

Regards,
Des.

The previous owner was using king british catfish pellets and the occassional bloodworm. i have had him now about 3 months and have been feeding him exactly what the other bloke had plus i have been introducing tetra prima, i am a bit worried about this i may try mussels and see how i get on now i live by the seaside they are readly avalible

ours eat cucumber sometimes - they ate it loads whenthey were younger

(L129s this is - not L046's)

Shell231 wrote:The previous owner was using king british catfish pellets

My Zebs love the king british catfish pellets

From all the replies on this topic, it appears that all zebras have their favourites and are all different.

My zebras won't eat the King British Catfish Pellets, they like Tetra Prima and their favourite is blood worm. They don't touch the cucumber although they will eat some flake food.

In stock I have the JMC High Protein food which I have not given to them yet.

ours love the JMC stuff

Mine is not too keen on anything other than bloodworm, he eat a whole blister of bloodworm last night, will he eat other stuff if i just put it in there ( force him to like it? ) harsh i know but could it work?

Shell231,

A couple of bloodworms or a catfish pellet ,I would say is the equivalent of a steak, to us humans. Make sure you are not overfeeding , and possibly polluting the water.
If you use a pottery saucer ( as those in garden centres)approx 4 to 5" ,near his cave and then place the food in this ,you will be able to see what and how much he eats.
Are there any other fish in with him?.

Regards,
Des.

No he is the only fish in the 3 ft tank, ( for now anyway ) i dont think i am polluting the water as there was nothing left at all, i may be over feeding him so i will leave it for tonight i think. I checked all the water parameters this morning as i always do on a sat and they are all fine Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 10ppm P.H 7.2.

Shell,

When I had my group I noticed a significant increase in activity when other "dither" fish were added to the tank. e.g. a shoal of tetras etc. I would strongly recommend adding, even just a few fish to your tank.

You can ALWAYS pollute a tank because the levels of good bacteria in your tank will only be proportional to the amount of waste ammonia and nitrite being produced by your fish. Just because you have one fish in a 3 foot tank doesn't mean pollution will not occur. In fact in some respects it is more likely should you accidently feed more food over the course of a few days. If you have a densely stocked 3 foot tank your good bacteria will be present in huge numbers to cope with their waste but the smae applies, a couple of extra feeds and the balance can be tipped.

I have found the best method for feeding most fish is to find a food they love (in your case bloodworm) and then slowly add another food. Over time start to increase the ratio of the new food. Eventually you can get the fish eating a number of foods and can alternate between them to obviously vary their diet and improve overall health.

If your zeb is healthy is WILL take other foods, especially tetra prima, just be patient. In fact try not feeding for a day or two to increase appetite. I often give all of my fish (apart from youngsters) at least one day a week without any food.

I went shopping today and brought, JMC high protein and hikari carnivore pellets so i think i have a really nice variety for him plus tommorrow i am going to buy some mussels and cockels and maybe try him on a them in the future.

Hi Shell231.

Leave out the cockles,they are too hard and chewy.They would be ok for large cichlids.
The mussel will be ok as they can gnaw at the soft flesh.( just make sure it is the fresh frozen and NOT the vinegared ones.)
What substrate have you got?

Regards,
Des.

Hi Des
these mussels are fresh from the sea been caught about 2 hours ago is this ok to use these i didn't have enough to buy the cockles as well ( now reading your post i am glad ) i am using sand as a substrate i have a good way off cleaning it now so i can all/most of it up

Hi Shell,

Have only just seen your message.
I have only used the frozen ones, especially the larger newzealand green lipped mussels which are a lot tastier, but I dont see why you cannot use a fresh one. Freeze the remainder for later use.

Regards,
Des.