Zebra Plecos

[Apistomaster]

I believe a Barbie, a member at ZebraPleco.com breeds and (I think) sells them at an LFS in the DC area. If so, you maybe able to get them directly from her.

Barbie lives and owns a fish shop in Spokane, WA 100 miles North of me. She is my best customer. Her Zebras haven't been spawning much lately and she just lost one breeding male, but the breeders are wild fish over ten years old. Average brood size is 12. I have already spoken for six from the last spawn which is only a couple weeks old. They sell for much more than $30, I guarantee you. All of the fish are spoken for as fast as they become available. You better be a close friend of hers or look else where for Hypancistrus zebra. It can take six months to grow them out to one inch specimens and three years to reach maturity.
Any price under $200 each is fair.
If it is true that farm raised fish will become available that is welcome news. Don't make the same mistake I did by placing five of them in a planted discus tank. They should be kept in a species tank with at most, a few peaceful Pencilfish or similar.

[LizStreithorst]

So what happened when you put them in with the Discus? The tank that I have in my mind would be a 30 gallon with sand bottom, lots of slate caves, driftwood, a few plants attached to the driftwood, and a pair of Discus. Of course I wouldn't expect to raise fry from this pair or from the plecos in this set up, but I thought that it would make an attractive and peaceful fish tank.

[DirtyBlackSocks]

These are true zebra pleco's. The same private breeders sells his Marlboro Red fry at healthy sizes for $5 each...he's just all around got great deals - but his wait list is a mile long.

[DirtyBlackSocks]

So what happened when you put them in with the Discus? The tank that I have in my mind would be a 30 gallon with sand bottom, lots of slate caves, driftwood, a few plants attached to the driftwood, and a pair of Discus. Of course I wouldn't expect to raise fry from this pair or from the plecos in this set up, but I thought that it would make an attractive and peaceful fish tank.

L046 are strictly carnivores, I don't think they even look twice at most spirulina based foods and they most assuredly wouldn't latch onto the sides of a discus to feed on the slime coat like common pleco's.

[Apistomaster]

My five Hypancistrus zebra immediately found the best hiding spot in the discus tank never to be seen except occasionally one will be seen scouring the glass when the lights are out. I plan to remove mine from the discus tank but it will be a major operation; one I've been putting off.
They hide underneath a pedestal type sponge filter and can always be found there if i want to do a head count.
I think a 30 gallon dedicated to a group of zebras would be great although they breed well in 20 longs.
Liz,
I encourage you to try to breed your zebras. Every tank raised fish is precious and we are basically in a species maintenance mode with the aquarium population. Every new fish raised helps. They pretty much raise themselves. Just keep a group alone, change their water, provide spawning caves and feed them plenty of frozen blood worms and live black worms. The baby zebras can be left with the adults.

[crazie.eddie]

L046 are strictly carnivores, I don't think they even look twice at most spirulina based foods and they most assuredly wouldn't latch onto the sides of a discus to feed on the slime coat like common pleco's.

They are omnivores, but more towards being a carnivore. I find young and juveniles not really having a taste for any type of vegetation, while adults will. I have and adult and sub-adult that will eat zuchini once in awhile. Yet my 2 juveniles wouldn't not even look at it.

[Wahter]

They are omnivores, but more towards being a carnivore. I find young and juveniles not really having a taste for any type of vegetation, while adults will. I have and adult and sub-adult that will eat zuchini once in awhile. Yet my 2 juveniles wouldn't not even look at it.

Mine like to eat tetra color bits.

[Ramon Anastacio]

So what happened when you put them in with the Discus? The tank that I have in my mind would be a 30 gallon with sand bottom, lots of slate caves, driftwood, a few plants attached to the driftwood, and a pair of Discus. Of course I wouldn't expect to raise fry from this pair or from the plecos in this set up, but I thought that it would make an attractive and peaceful fish tank.

I got a spawn from Zebras that were in a Discus tank. I placed the babies in their own tank once I saw them. This has happened only once though.

Click on the link below to see two of the six fry from that spawn.

http://www.pbase.com/image/40987401