I consider that temp a tad too low for general keeping. If one is trying to trigger spawning the water may be allowed to drop to that or a slightly lower level for a day or two but then it is normally raised back to the low 80sF. I have 3 tanks of zebras and I mostly keep them in the 84F range +/- 2F. I have on occasion had them as high as 90F/32.2C
The pH should be fine for them. Bear in mind that zebras are not a blackwater (tannin stained) fish. In terms of caves, I would pick something besides flower pots. They want tighter type spaces. A tubular or rectangular shape or even a D shaped cave all work fine.
I have almost exclusively kept mine in species tanks. I did park a couple of wild caught males in with discus for a couple years. In the wild zebras live in warm, well oxygenated fast flowing waters. There is very little plant matter or even algae as they live fairly deep.
The floor of the xingu is primerily made up of rounded rocks, crevises and a sandy substrate, allowing Hypancistrus zebra to travel throughout it's territory under cover from preditors. The Amazon and some of its tributaries, called "whitewater" rivers, bear rich sediments and hydrobiological elements. The blackwater and clearwater rivers, such as the Negro, Tapajós, and Xingu have clear or dark water with few nutrients and little sediment. The Xingu is crystal clear and carries little in the way of sediment.
From
http
/www.zebraplec...eco_habitat.php
As noted above these fish are not cheap to purchase. If you are new to the species and buying an F1 (tank bred fish), be sure to look out for snub nose specimens. This is tank bred related issue which appears occasionally, the cause of which is still a debated topic. Also, be sure to get a fish that is at least 3.2cm and I would suggest even bigger would be better. Once they make it to six months they are getting pretty hardy and by a year they should be well developed and surprisingly resilient. When older they are very forgiving of less than optimal conditions. Believe it or not when I am pressed for time to get tank work done, the most likely tanks on which I may skip a weekly wc are my Hypancistrus tanks, including the zebras as long as they contain no young fry.
The one thing I do mention to most folks who are wanting to add a zebra to their community setup and which applies in your situation is this. Tetras cost a few dollars/pounds, the same for sterbais and cardinals. Zebras run many times that. I have few problems if my zebra kills a cory or a tetra or infects it with some ailment. I am not real anxious to see the reverse.
The final thing you should understand is that zebras are pretty reclusive by nature. The saying is that a happy healthy zebra is a hiding zebra. So in buying the most expensive fish you may own for a while, you have to prepared to see it very rarely. I can tell you I have had tanks with 13 adults and over 50 assorted size fry in them and folks who look at the tank ask why there are no fish in it.
Imo- despite all the amazingly colored fish one can keep, I still find the pure black and white colors of the zebra make it one of the most striking fish I have seen. Nothing else looks like it, not even the other b&w Hypans.
