Need help with Zebra Pleco set up

[NML]

I've been wanting to keep Zebras for many years now and I've finally pulled the plug and got myself a new tank! I've searched the net high and low looking at some set ups but I would like to see how all your Zebra set ups are like!

This is my tank as it sits right now.
[ame="http://s942.photobucket.com/user/NML69/media/Mobile%20Uploads/837CFA11-4FE4-4973-A251-538B31A615F4.jpg.html"]837CFA11-4FE4-4973-A251-538B31A615F4.jpg Photo by NML69 | Photobucket[/ame]

Ideally I will be using caves and 1 or 2 pieces of drift wood.

Throw me them pictures and show me how beautiful your tanks look!

 

[ajm]

Good luck with your tank, looks like you have a bit to add yet

My tank can be found on my zebra blog: http://zebral046project.blogspot.com.au/

I prefer a planted tank though and many serious breeders don't. However, I wouldn't say I was too serious, considering I only have two zebs at this stage... I would like to add to my collection and have them breed in the future, but I prefer natural set ups and care of my fish rather than simply to produce in bulk to make money. But that's just me. One thing I would say though is if you do add plants to try and get some that are definitely snail free, they are a pain in the butt!

Good luck

 

[Irene0100]

I keep plants in with my zebs as i think they help with water quality. my pics are in the L46 write up on here.

 

[leisure_man]

I keep my 20 L46 adult breeders in bare bottom breeding tanks. The idea is easy cleanup and easier to collect the fry. Plenty of water movement and filtration couple with daily water change keep the water pristine.

 

[ajm]

Hi Leisure_man

Do you have any pics of your bare bottom tank? I am interested to see the difference. I personally prefer the natural look, however, when it comes to fry collection time I recognise it will be a nightmare...

Cheers

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
If you want plants but are worried about trying to retrieve fry etc. there is a useful article in the article base: <"Java Fern planted on sponges">.

I like plants and a substrate (it can just be a thin layer of sand) because they give you a bit more "wriggle room", if you aren't extremely conscientious about water management and tank cleanliness or have periods away from home etc.

Rheophilic plecs like Hypancistrus spp. need clean water, partially because clean water should have a higher level of oxygenation. In warm water you have to be very aware of oxygenation levels, because warm water holds less oxgen than cooler water.

I originally wrote "Aeration....." because I became aware that the larger rheophilic plecs are very vulnerable when levels of oxygen fall to those that are perfectally acceptable to most other fish.

"Aeration and dissolved oxygen in the aquarium".

cheers Darrel

 

[bigbird]

a few rules you must stick by.
1. they need warmer water. 2. this tends to needing more oxygen in the water by more airstone and water movement. 3. Have 2 canister filters per tank. 4. they need pristine water so daily water changes are needed of min 20%. 5. I love silica sand on the bottom of my tanks 6. for plants use anubias tied to rocks or driftwood.

Now good luck and remember, the effort you put in, will pay off in the end. good luck cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[leisure_man]

You want picture of my setup? I have multiple L46 tanks, so there are basically two setups. All bare bottom and all producing fry. There are also two type of caves that I use and both are ceramic caves. Catching the fry however, is a full time job. Remove everything and catch the fry one at a time. It is a real pain but each spawn equals to serious $$, and I have two fish rooms to maintain so they have to pay for themselves and then some. I do have automated water change system controls by programmable logic, so I don't have to spend all day in the fish room to finish the chore of cleaning, feeding, and water change.

While others may enjoy setting up a beautiful tank (been there done that) and just content with see the fish swimming about, I am obsess with breeding fish. Plecos are only 1/3 of my tanks while the others are for breeding various cichlids and even Betta macrostoma.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I'll say straight away that I'm not a fish breeder, whilst a few of the fish I keep have bred, and I get a trickle of fry, they are nearly all ones where some fry can survive with their parents until they are big enough for me to net out. All I do is make sure the fish get a good diet with plenty of live food, and after that they have to survive on benign neglect.

While others may enjoy setting up a beautiful tank (been there done that) and just content with see the fish swimming about, I am obsess with breeding fish.

I know what you mean, and that most serious fish breeders like yourself use fairly bare tanks, but having planted tanks it isn't really about the tanks being beautiful, it is much more about plants having a positive effect on water quality.

I know I've said it before, but both my "day job" and my fish keeping has led me to the opinion that actively growing plants are the single factor that has the greatest effect on maintaining water quality and I would advice every-one to keep planted aquariums for that reason.

cheers Darrel

 

[leisure_man]

While having some plants in the aquarium is a nice touch and do provide some benefits to the water quality assuming the plants are thriving, I find it foolish to rely on plants to help improve the water quality. Water change is the single most important factor on water quality in a close environment like an aquarium.

BTW, L46 pleco lives in a depth of around 25m where there is no aquatic plant. I also breed Apistos, and those tanks have plants as most Apistos live among leave litters.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I find it foolish to rely on plants to help improve the water quality. Water change is the single most important factor on water quality in a close environment like an aquarium.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't an "either/or" situation and although I only keep planted tanks I'm a fanatical water changer as well. I also like two filters on all my tanks (usually 2nd hand Eheims) for "belt and braces".

Given the choice I would always have a planted over-tank "wet & dry" trickle filter, they are the gold standard of biological filtration because of their resilience if you have a power failure and their large gas exchange surface.

A combination of water changes and plants can help to give you very high quality water, but if the choice was plants or water changes (unless we are talking about a "fail-safe" drip through system with several complete turn-overs of water over 24 hours and an extremely large water reservoir) I would always choose plants.

One reason for this is that plants give you "negative feedback", if you have high levels of macro-nutrients, say from a fish death, plants will take up the NH4+ before it ever enters microbial biological filtration. Because I can't always get at all the tanks (some are in the lab. and I'm away on field work etc) I need a system which can function without intervention for 2 -3 weeks.

If you are interested in water changes in low tech planted tanks there is an interesting discussion in these threads: <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/fish-health-in-relation-to-no-water-changes-in-low-tech-tanks.28095/> & <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-tech-no-waterchanges.10101/>

A planted system (with emergent and floating plants with access to aerial CO2 and O2), with a trickle filter, will have the capacity to deal with about x10 the bioload of a microbe alone system (like a canister filter).

If any-one is interested in this area I'd recommend "Aquatic phytoremediation: novel insights in tropical and subtropical regions:" <http://pac.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2010/pdf/8201x0027.pdf>.

L46 pleco lives in a depth of around 25m where there is no aquatic plant. I also breed Apistos, and those tanks have plants as most Apistos live among leave litters

Point taken, I also have Apistogramma (in fact I think we are both long term members of Apistogramma forums?), and again I keep all of those in planted tanks with added leaf litter, even if they come from "black water" with no aquatic plants.

I'm not really bothered about whether the fish come from biotopes without plants etc. I would always have plants (even if they aren't physically in the tank), because not having plants is like playing cards with all the picture cards taken out of your hand.

cheers Darrel

 

[Raul-7]

I'd recommend bog plants like Spathiphyllum sp. Have the roots in the water to uptake nutrients and the leaves in the air to allow for better gas exchange. That way it will grow faster.

I like plants too, but I don't know if they belong in Hypancistrus breeding setup because [a] Hypancistrus don't like the light high current [c] they'll compete for oxygen when it's dark [d] they grow too slow in low-light conditions, without CO2 and micros.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I'd recommend bog plants like Spathiphyllum sp. Have the roots in the water to uptake nutrients and the leaves in the air to allow for better gas exchange. That way it will grow faster.

Spathiphyllum is a good one, as you suggest the plants don't have to physically be in the tank to gain the benefits, I really the "aerial advantage" of access to 400ppm CO2. My original planted filters were all "over tank planted trickle filters".

I like plants too, but I don't know if they belong in Hypancistrus breeding setup because [a] Hypancistrus don't like the light high current [c] they'll compete for oxygen when it's dark [d] they grow too slow in low-light conditions, without CO2 and micros.

These are fair points, and I'm not suggesting that a Dutch style aquarium with CO2 etc is really optimal. As a general point in most situations plants improve levels of oxygenation even at night.

There is a more complete discussion here in our article "Aeration and dissolved oxygen...."

cheers Darrel