Zebra Plecs

[indigoj]

I'd still say the king tiger (l066) and queen arabesque are too sensitive for a newly cycled tank although certainly more suitable than a zeb.

 

[rabbut]

Meh, my L66 were in the first group of fish to go into my 4ft'er and they were breeding within a few weeks... Can't have upset them that much As a rule, plecos into a newly cycled tank isn't recommended, but if you know what you are doing, and aren't getting one that specialises in algae eating (algae-only eaters are rare in the pleco world) you will be fine to jump in with most IME...

 

[Jonathangerous]

Honestly, the only reason why people tout h. zebra as sensitive is because it costs so much and looks so pretty. Along with all other hypans, they are nearly bulletproof, assuming you practice even subpar aquarium maintenance.

 

[tropic_john]

currently on ebay, 10 mature adult zebra plecs [5 males, 5 females, all breeding pairs] for £5000. but in the pictures on the listing it shows about 50 little zebra plecs and his 10 adults!!!

 

[indigoj]

hmmm that one is possibly not all it seems....

Zebs and other hypans are too sensitive for a beginner with a new tank IMO. They are shy fish at first and do not compete as well for food as your avarage BN, especially when young.

 

[JenCliBee]

Been watching this thread develope and seems a lot of hearsay going on.... hypans are very hardy.. yes juvi's can be abit tempremental from time to time but hey what fish cant be at a young age, zebs would be fine in a new tank as long as the stats are constant, stable and water is reasonably prestine. They dont compete for food well as indigoj says but thats only against very ferosious eaters.. ive kept them with big groups of cory's and they have always been nice and fat with plenty of food as long as food is pretty much fed on lights out but that is pretty much for all plecs and catfish in general.

Prices have dropped.... £300 for an adult fish is way over the top unless its a garenteed breeding female but even then top end would only be the £300 mark if not less, juvi's can be picked up for as little as £40, they have been sold by a very respected plec breeder on this site for that price but 50-60 would be about average nowdays for a 1-1.5 inch zeb ....the same as £150 - £200 would be average for a fully grown breeder age wild caught specimen.

Price isnt really an issue... the fish will be worth as much as A person is willing to pay, i personally would pay £300 for a zeb but i also know that i could get cheaper if i shopped around... i also would pay more than what there worth if i know the person or the person has a very respected rep.

 

[dave_oddballs]

yes i agree, i wanted a group a while back and could get them from a member on here for around £50 but moved onto bigger things, maybe not better........ but bigger!

 

[rabbut]

I'll accept an experienced keeper would get away with them in a new tank, but this experienced keep would likely have filter cloned, so it isn't a fully new tank I'd still allow 6 months for the tank to mature before advising them to be added, and if a customer at work wanted to add them to a tank less than about 4 months old, I'd refuse sale unless they could show me they knew what they were doing, and were filer cloning

 

[dave_oddballs]

and how would one prove that to you?
most people set up tanks purely for zebra tanks and i can guarantee as experienced as they may be they dont sit there watching an empty tank for 6 months before they introduce some zebs!
yes, they arent for beginners but if you have a new cycled tank and maintain it correctly and carry on doing so for the duration of the fish's lives then theres no reason for there to be any ill effects.

 

[rabbut]

Well, you can usually tell an experienced hobbyist appart from a novice, purely on how they speak to you. They tend to ask a load of questions about the conditions the fish are in, and whats it's being fed, rather than "will this fish be ok with....?" or "It eats algea doesn't it?". As above, if the person has set-up for zebs, they would almost deffinately have cloned the tanks filter from another tank, meaning I've have no issue with the sale, or they would have removed a load of fish to change the tank over for zebs...