pinkdolphin_113
Sinclair Aquatic Systems
i know! i totally agree. having the fish i can imagine is wonderful 
but them breeding would be a bonus!
but them breeding would be a bonus!Zebras - Fishy World Eye Candy !
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stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
i know! i totally agree. having the fish i can imagine is wonderful
pinkdolphin_113
Sinclair Aquatic Systems
well i shall be waiting patiently 
From what i have read to have the best chance of breeding you need at least 6 individuals prefferably in a ratio of 1m to 2f. Supply them with lots plastic tubes which are just large enough for an adult male to fit into, roughly 1.5 inch diameter and about 3 inches long to act as spawing caves and get as much curret going in the tank as you can with powerheads placed at one end of the tank.
I actually had the chance to buy a confirmed breeding group of 6 zebras for £360 five years ago from a shop in Dorset while we was on a weeks break down there, we had the cash and was all set to pick them up on our last day on the way home but when we got to the turn off there was heavy traffic leading into town so we decided to leave it and head straight for the motorway before the traffic got bad on there. It was a couple of months after that that zebra plecs suddenly vanished from the shops and i've been kicking myself ever since.
I actually had the chance to buy a confirmed breeding group of 6 zebras for £360 five years ago from a shop in Dorset while we was on a weeks break down there, we had the cash and was all set to pick them up on our last day on the way home but when we got to the turn off there was heavy traffic leading into town so we decided to leave it and head straight for the motorway before the traffic got bad on there. It was a couple of months after that that zebra plecs suddenly vanished from the shops and i've been kicking myself ever since.
stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
Thanks CFC!
We've got a couple of bits of black pipe and some slate caves as well. We've put a powerhead in one end of the tank and also an airstone at the back. We trawled through the internet to make sure we set everything up right, so all we can do is wait!
I'm sorry you missed out on buying some, it seems that they are very rarely for sale which is why we snapped these ones up!
We've got a couple of bits of black pipe and some slate caves as well. We've put a powerhead in one end of the tank and also an airstone at the back. We trawled through the internet to make sure we set everything up right, so all we can do is wait!
I'm sorry you missed out on buying some, it seems that they are very rarely for sale which is why we snapped these ones up!
With the tubes having 3 "caves" per fish as minimum seems to be the trend, that way they fussy little gits get to pick a tube they like. I did see on a forum long ago someone had made some lovely little caves using pieces of roofing slate stuck together with silicon to form little 1.5x3" boxes which had a more natural look than PVC pipe.
To be honest its probably better that i did miss out, small fish and plecs arent really my thing and i only wanted them for breeding to add to the list of fish i was already breeding at the time, hopefully they went to a real pleco enthusiast instead so they were really appreciated rather than sitting on a bottom shelf of a rack somewhere just as a breeding project.
To be honest its probably better that i did miss out, small fish and plecs arent really my thing and i only wanted them for breeding to add to the list of fish i was already breeding at the time, hopefully they went to a real pleco enthusiast instead so they were really appreciated rather than sitting on a bottom shelf of a rack somewhere just as a breeding project.
stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
The chap who we brought the Plecos from gave us 3 slate caves that had already been made up, pretty much the way you've described. We've disguised what we can with a few pieces of bogwood, which they seem to prefer at the moment!
Plecos are our favourite fish but the ones we own aren't for breeding. We have 11 assorted ones in our big tank, just chose ones that we really liked. The Zebra Plecos are a bit of a challenge for us but we remain confident that something will happen!
The fish you own yourself are beautiful, it's nice seeing pictures of more unusual ones. Are you still breeding?
Plecos are our favourite fish but the ones we own aren't for breeding. We have 11 assorted ones in our big tank, just chose ones that we really liked. The Zebra Plecos are a bit of a challenge for us but we remain confident that something will happen!
The fish you own yourself are beautiful, it's nice seeing pictures of more unusual ones. Are you still breeding?
I gave up the breeding. I had about 8 species on the go and it was great at first as i could take my fry into the local shops once they were ready and sell them for cash but after a while the shops realised i was running it as a continual project and started getting greedy, they started cutting down the ammount they would give me for the fry saying they had found a wholesaler that was cheaper and then they would only give me store credit so eventually i was breeding fish just to swap them for the food that it had cost me to raise them. It wasnt worth the agro of daily water changes and grief from the mrs for having grow out tanks every where around the flat so i packed it all in and just kept the fish that i really like rather than species that were easy for the shops to sell.
stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
That's such a shame, I should imagine it was quite a satisfying experience having successful breedings.
Sadly, a lot of shops are too greedy, considering what they give you and what they mark the fish up for, they must make a tidy little profit.
We get on great with the lads in our lfs and they know that we are planning on breeding the Zebras. They said that if we were successful, they'll give us a credit note for about a 1/4 of the mark up price. I think not!
Sadly, a lot of shops are too greedy, considering what they give you and what they mark the fish up for, they must make a tidy little profit.
We get on great with the lads in our lfs and they know that we are planning on breeding the Zebras. They said that if we were successful, they'll give us a credit note for about a 1/4 of the mark up price. I think not!
Thats why so few people bother to go into the breeding side of the hobby and the furthest most get with actually breeding fish at home is a few unplanned spawns from common livebearers or Cichlids. Last week I was chatting with a guy who used to breed Appistogramma 20 years ago and he said more or less the same thing, he was buying his pairs of F0 appistos for fairly large sums of money spending time effort and money on conditioning them to breed and raise the fry and then being given pittance by the shops because they knew that there was no other way for him to pass the fry on other than through fish club auctions. He gave up the fish hobby altogether and now breeds rare Geckos which make a tidy sum of money selling for up to £300 per animal and having people queueing up to buy them.
If the fish shops supported small scale breeders more and gave them fair prices for their fish then less fish would have to come from the wild or come in riddled with diseases from the far east and eastern european fish farms.
If the fish shops supported small scale breeders more and gave them fair prices for their fish then less fish would have to come from the wild or come in riddled with diseases from the far east and eastern european fish farms.
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
mmm very true
we've never even bothered with breeding as the room and time you need just does not really justify the end given by the shops. Only time I can see us doing it is if we had a lot of time free and wanted a project for the satisfaction of breeding in itself. hey maybe after the kids we've not yet had have all gone to college we'll have the time for it!
stang1
A smile costs nothing :)
I couldn't agree with you more. The trouble is with some shops, it's more about the money than the quality.
I've ended up losing 4 male Blue Rams and I've no idea why. My female is fine but the males last no more than 4 days. Water parameters are fine and the lfs couldn't explain it. I ended up searching the web and found that they are injected with hormones and therefeore don't seem to last as long. They aren't kidding!
Sadly, there isn't enough encouragement for people to breed. Apart from the satisfaction side, the money being made from it isn't really worth it.
I've ended up losing 4 male Blue Rams and I've no idea why. My female is fine but the males last no more than 4 days. Water parameters are fine and the lfs couldn't explain it. I ended up searching the web and found that they are injected with hormones and therefeore don't seem to last as long. They aren't kidding!
Sadly, there isn't enough encouragement for people to breed. Apart from the satisfaction side, the money being made from it isn't really worth it.
a 20 year old zeb?? hmmmm lol
pinkdolphin_113
Sinclair Aquatic Systems
he might not have said 20 years lol but i know it was quite some time.
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