Zebra Plecs L046

[nicolaisam]

Thanks
Going to look at more at the weekend
They have both disapeared into some caves.LOL

Any chance of a photo of your Zeb Tank please,Not sure what i want decor wise.

This is an old pic, the tank changed from time to time to acommodate more and to give more places to hide... i haven't actually got anymore on this laptop or photobucket.... will have a dig around and find some old pics that should be on disc somewhere lol

Decor wise..... caves, slate, wood and you cant go wrong.... substrate is optional... bare bottom is much easier to clean but can be a little unsightly.

Ok,that helps,would it be a struggle to get plants to grow at 28.5 degrees and quite a lot of flow.

 

[JenCliBee]

Ok,that helps,would it be a struggle to get plants to grow at 28.5 degrees and quite a lot of flow.

usually yes but i never had many problems with hygro species.... i opted to not have to many plants in my zeb tanks... die off and rotting leaves ect 'can' cause ammonia spikes and with such expensive fish i chose to eliminate the risk to some extent and with the added flow it used to actually remove leaves... as you can see from the pic, i had moss balls but these were removed virtually straight away and a hygro polysperma and that was it.

Post in the plant section if you want plants and ask if there are any which are more suited to higher temps

 

[nicolaisam]

Ok,that helps,would it be a struggle to get plants to grow at 28.5 degrees and quite a lot of flow.

usually yes but i never had many problems with hygro species.... i opted to not have to many plants in my zeb tanks... die off and rotting leaves ect 'can' cause ammonia spikes and with such expensive fish i chose to eliminate the risk to some extent and with the added flow it used to actually remove leaves... as you can see from the pic, i had moss balls but these were removed virtually straight away and a hygro polysperma and that was it.

Post in the plant section if you want plants and ask if there are any which are more suited to higher temps

My other tanks are well planted,so might not with this one,bit more contrast between different environments of fish.

Few photos.Poor but its a struggle to get photos of them

 

[JenCliBee]

stunning mate.... not really much else to say

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If it helps here is a poor pic of the 30B (36x18 inch)

33 gal breeders 48x12 inch (top is 134s and bottom is f1 Zebras)

I am a better fish keeper than photographer.

 

[nicolaisam]

If it helps here is a poor pic of the 30B (36x18 inch)

33 gal breeders 48x12 inch (top is 134s and bottom is f1 Zebras)

I am a better fish keeper than photographer.

Very nice,seems i am not far out with my Decor then.
will have to find some plants that like 28 degrees and strong flow.
Just popping out into the garage to have a measure up,Think i could get 3x3ft tanks if i rearranged things a bit.
The only thing is heating and filters,what are you using?
L134's are stunning as well,my next favourite plec.Bit cheaper in the Uk than zebras.

Thanks for the photos

 

[nicolaisam]

If it helps here is a poor pic of the 30B (36x18 inch)

33 gal breeders 48x12 inch (top is 134s and bottom is f1 Zebras)

I am a better fish keeper than photographer.

I have been looking at your setup,I can get a similar setup with 2 or 3 36" x 18" x 18" in my garage.

What Filters do you use?

I am about to get a quote for 2 or 3 x 36" clearseal tanks.
Will build a rack to carry them.

Thanks

 

[lilfishie]

These truely are stunning fish. Maybe in a year or 2 i can get a young group of my own

 

[TwoTankAmin]

My choice of filtration depends on the tank. For the two zebra breeder tanks I use a combination of 3 filters. The wc tank has a sponged powerhead that blows down the front from left to right, an AquaClear 150 gph power filter on the right rear which also provides most of the oxygenation and finally a specially modified H.O.T. Magnum. The H.O.T. has a spray bar out put which directs flow from the top left side of the tank, The intake is at the opposite bottom end of the tank using a long hose to connect it to the filter intake.

Both the 33L tanks have similar setups. They have two sponged powerheads on the left end- one blows down the front glass and the other down the rear glass. Both also have right rear mounted power filters- one is an AquaClear 200 and the other an Eheim Liberty 200 gph.

The contradens breeder tank, the L-173B growout/breeder and the zebra growout tanks all use 3 filters- a pair of AquaClear power filters (one at either end of the tank) as well as an air driven sponge in the center rear of the tank.

Most of these tanks also have two heaters in them as well.

One note, these are all older photos which is why you see as many plants in them as you do. The plants are used for the initial start up phase of new tanks for the bio-filtration they provide. Over time most of the plants come out of the tanks. As you noted, finding plants that do well in warmer water can be a challenge. Moreover, it is much harder to keep these sort of breeding and growout tanks algae free due to the temps and the fact that subdued lighting is used. A number of my pleco tanks now only use lighting during maintenance. In the wild zebras live pretty deep and there is minimal light, no plants and not much algae either except what is caused due to chemical runoff.

One last note, I have found when one can use a frame type stand (like a metal stand) combined with a bare bottom tank that it makes it possible to observe the fish from below through the bottom glass. It can make it a lot easier to find fish, see which fms may be gravid and discover fry you never knew you had. For watching bottom dwelling fish it offers a way to study them from an unusual perspective.

 

[nicolaisam]

Thanks for the information.

The stand will be made from 50mm x 25mm x 3mm RHS,I have an old rack that i will convert,I used to be a welder/Fabricator,so steel is my thing,and i still have access to all of the Equiptment at my dads workshop.Converting will begin this week,hopefully finished Saturday for painting,fit the rack sunday.

The racking would be large enough to carry 3 x 48" x 18" x 18" tanks.And will be fixed to the wall in my garage and stand on the floor.
Will probably have the top tank divided into 2 or 3 parts.For a fry tank,hospital tank/spare.

Would i be better to buy 48x12x12 as these are a bit cheaper.But a lot less capacity.Or 36"x18x18 and space on the rack for external filters,food etc.
I was thinking of 2 powerhead sponge filters adapted so the powerhead is one end and the intake/sponge the other.
Will have to think about filters,could get expensive to run.
Heating will be 200w per tank,good idea on 2 heaters per tank.Did you fit 2x200 or 2x100's.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

A lot of my tanks sizes are decided more by available space for the tank rather than what otherwise might be ideal. The main issue is really area. Plecos are territorial so space is your friend. The 33L tanks are 4x1 so they have 4 square feet of space while a 36inx18in has 4.5 square feet. Thats not much of a difference. One tank has 12.5% more area and the other has 10% more volume.

If you are not space constrained, then there are very few instances where bigger is not better.

As for equipment there are two factors which drove how I ended up with the configurations I use. First, I bought a lot of my equipment years ago before prices started getting nuts. Second, I am rarely concerned with cost. I do look for the best prices on things but I do not have to step down or forgo needed equipment soley based on the price. That and my zebras (and other plecos) have pretty much managed to pay for all of my fish keeping costs retroactively to day one.

 

[nicolaisam]

A lot of my tanks sizes are decided more by available space for the tank rather than what otherwise might be ideal. The main issue is really area. Plecos are territorial so space is your friend. The 33L tanks are 4x1 so they have 4 square feet of space while a 36inx18in has 4.5 square feet. Thats not much of a difference. One tank has 12.5% more area and the other has 10% more volume.

If you are not space constrained, then there are very few instances where bigger is not better.

As for equipment there are two factors which drove how I ended up with the configurations I use. First, I bought a lot of my equipment years ago before prices started getting nuts. Second, I am rarely concerned with cost. I do look for the best prices on things but I do not have to step down or forgo needed equipment soley based on the price. That and my zebras (and other plecos) have pretty much managed to pay for all of my fish keeping costs retroactively to day one.

I see how much the prices are for each,Might end up with the largest tanks,48x18x18 and perhaps only fill them to 1ft,this will give me more flexability,just in case i want to breed anything bigger.

As you say on filtration,its not going to cost that much to run the filters.And the selling of a few young will cover it.
I think powerheads with sponge filters,and cheaper externals,my LFS has big discounts on Aqua one filters.

Thanks again,All ideas and thoughts are usefull

 

[nicolaisam]

3 more Zebra plecs brought.Will be here early next week

 

[JenCliBee]

3 more Zebra plecs brought.Will be here early next week

Congrats.... look forward to some more pics once settled

 

[nicolaisam]

3 more Zebra plecs brought.Will be here early next week

Congrats.... look forward to some more pics once settled

Arrived this morning,They are stunning.
Just been offered 11 juveniles,Mixed bloodlines.