In the end, zebra plecos will be extinct soon. Either you save the habitat, or you breed zombies for a short time. The habitat seems doomed.
You can work hard to distribute quality fish in good numbers. If you start at 25, you might be able to do so for 50 years. You can make plans to do it right, building a network of breeders with database studbooks to avoid inbreeding, constant exchange of fish, etc.
In all my years in the hobby, I haven't seen such a network created by private individuals. I've seen attempts - the Aquatic Conservation Network, the C.A.R.E.S. program, the killifish conservation networks, etc. I have my own species I've tried to keep a killie around with. I don't know how many pairs I've sent out, or how many successful eggs I've sent out. How many discussions, instructions based on my experience, articles in magazines, etc. The fish became popular and almost common in killie circles for a bit, all radiating out of my fishroom because I liked the fish. Then interest crashed and became rare. Everyone wants novelty, new things, and for a species that took untold millions of years to become what it is, ten years of popularity is a meaningless blip.
An entire rack of tanks dedicated to one species just doesn't sell in this hobby. Only a tiny minority of hobbyists are interested in single species tanks, or even in breeding. I'm very aware that since I've been unable to create sustained interest in my favourite little killie (Aphyosemion zygaima) that it is just a personal project. When I die, or even become unable to continue with my enjoyment of the hobby, the fish will be out of the hobby soon after. The only way that can change is if maybe 30 young fishkeepers decide to focus on this species. But there are hundreds of others equally endangered, and for zygaima, very few keepers. We buy a rarity, keep it, breed it and then get rid of it to try another.
So I try to support conservation efforts, although not being a billionaire, my support doesn't go far. Aphyosemion zygaima survives in an inaccessible stream in a rugged ravine surrounded by a giant soy plantation. People need food. If it weren't for a deep ravine, one spring and some sharp slippery rocks, zygaima would be extinct. The zebra pleco habitat is compromised by the dams, and people like Leandro Sousa are risking a lot (conservation is Brazil is dangerous) trying for the only workable solution. That battle is probably already lost, and hobbyist breeders are just pretending, as sincerely as they try.
The rapids of the Congo will be next, as hydro-electric power is needed. It's just as interesting a habitat as the Xingu, with wonderful species we barely know.
