Zebra Pleco in a 20 Gallon?

CichlidBoy · Post by **CichlidBoy** » 15 May 2003, 22:48

My boss is getting in a supply of Zebras form Forida soon. Do you guy's think it will be ok for one to go in a 20 gallon tank? I am only going to have to pay around $40-50 for a ich long one.

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 15 May 2003, 22:58

Hi!

Is he going to be alone in that tank?
Im not in the US but id never pay that high a price for such a small fish. My lfs guy told he me doesnt order such small fish cauz the are very sensible to water chemistry changes. A fish this size from a private breeders would cost 30 euro here.

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 15 May 2003, 23:24

The tank size is fine. Just remember, they do not compete for food very well, so it would be better off by itself or with others. Odds are that it is wild caught, so you will need to teach it to eat. I would recomend going with a bare bottom tank and feeding bloodworms. As for price, that seems to be pretty cheap right now. I don't know of anyone who has any in stock right now.

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 15 May 2003, 23:35

@clayt what speaks against a "normal" sand bottom tank? I dont get your food=substrate connection here. (might be a language problem)

CichlidBoy · Post by **CichlidBoy** » 16 May 2003, 00:05

He is going to be in a 20 gallon with fine sand. I know about them eatting and all. I work for a fish retail store, and my boss is going to be ordering them from Florida (I guess he knows a guy with them in stock). There is only a pair of Juli. Transcriptus (Shell Cichlid) in the tank. I think he should be fine, i'm just woundering if he will be ok in a 20? Because they only grow to around 3-4 inches.

thefishdaddy · Post by **thefishdaddy** » 16 May 2003, 01:57

When you guys are talking about the size of a Zebra Pleco or any other pleco in particular, are we talking about the length of the fish from the tip of the snout all the way to the tip of the caudal fin, or is this from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail, coz a 1 inch fish is very small if you include the tail fin.

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 16 May 2003, 02:01

That was my point. I wouldnt want a 3 cm H.zebra for this price. And if you consider it "cheap" you can also just wait till its season again and get it for a much better price.

Graeme · Post by **Graeme** » 16 May 2003, 02:19

Fins dont count on body size but i think they mean.......well i dont know!! Thease pro's ? never give a proper answer.

If only!

BIGblue · Post by **BIGblue** » 16 May 2003, 04:37

Caol_ila wrote:Im not in the US but id never pay that high a price for such a small fish.

I live in South Florida. I've only found one LFS that carries L-46, Benny's Tropical Fish, and they go for $124. They are between 1 and 2 inches. $40-$50 is a great price.

CichlidBoy · Post by **CichlidBoy** » 16 May 2003, 04:48

I'm not sure how you guy's measure your fish. But I think $40-50 is a good deal, plus I should get a discount because I work there. He is ordering a large amount form a wholesaler somewhere in Florida so the prices are better. LOL You guy's still haven't answered my first question on if the Zebra would be ok in the tank? Get back to me.

Post by **Barbie** » 16 May 2003, 05:10

Julidochromis transcriptus are not a shell dwelling cichlid. They can also be quite aggressive, and come from water with a pH well above 8.4. While the zebra plecos can tolerate higher pH, I think that will definitely be pushing the boundaries somewhat, and transcriptus are anything but mild mannered if they spawn. I had a pair keep fish twice their size stacked up like cordwood in one end of the tank away from their chosen spawning site. IMO, the answer to your question is no. If you were to choose other tankmates that weren't such a potential problem, you would probably be fine.

Barbie

CichlidBoy · Post by **CichlidBoy** » 16 May 2003, 05:18

Well guess what I'm going to do it Barbie. I don't care what you say, I didn't ask your opinion. I don't think you know anything, your just a dumb fake plastic doll. You need to shut up and leave us all alone. So mind your own, and never talk to me again you crazy whore!

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 16 May 2003, 06:05

Wow...

I don't know about cichlids, but I do know about zebras. 8.4 is high, thats about what the pH is around here as well. I lower it a bit before using the water in my aquarium, but I think the zebra would tolerate it. The only thing I would worry about is the competition for food.

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 16 May 2003, 06:08

Forgot to mention about size...I think the small size may be due to the over fishing of this fish. From what I have heard, it has become more difficult to get larger ones in the wild.

mokmu · Post by **mokmu** » 16 May 2003, 06:59

ClayT101 wrote:The tank size is fine. Just remember......

I think ClayT101 answered that question on tank size on the 3rd reply.

Regards,
Mike D.

thefishdaddy · Post by **thefishdaddy** » 16 May 2003, 09:07

cichlidboy,
you need to tone down the attitude, You asked a question and it was answered in a polite and correct manner, I do keep and breed Julidochromis transcriptus and they can and will be able to kill a very Timid zebra pleco in a 20 gallon tank, the Julie do breed in a shell if there is no other suitable spawning site but in nature they are ristricted to the rocky outcrop of lake Tanganyika.... If the zebras are wild and not very well acclimated to your tank they might die, Hypancistrus Zebra are almost indistructable after it gets used to your tank, I have kept them with my Tanganyikan cichlids with Temp. of 76 F. with lots of baking soda and epson salt in a very crouded tank and they are still alive.

"the tank below is a 20 gallon long tank w/c houses 35 Synodontis petricola, 2 P nigripinis, 24 C. leptosoma, 12 J. transcriptus, a few Bristlenose pleco to clean the tank, and on the right hand side is a devider that housed 2 zebra pleco, and on the left side was another devider that has a breeding group of bristlenose pleco, that is the reason whey all the fish are seen in the middle of the tank, right in the middle is a pair of transcriptus female on top cave while male in the lower cave the tank was only filtered using two tetra billet filter and a small sponge filter where the zebras are"

I have killed many of them in a quarantine tank, with all the parameters in perfect order, water was tested daily and still they died without apparent reason, you wont be able to tell if the fish is alive coz the color wont even change and they are still upright, you kinda have to poke each fish daily to see if they are still alive.... right now all the other fish are removed and the zebra pleco pretty much owns the tank, if you are willing to loose $50 "by the way thats way too much for that fish" then add the pleco to the tank.

Plec0maniac · Post by **Plec0maniac** » 16 May 2003, 12:34

hi I dont recommend you placing the zebras with a pair of julli. These could be a mistake!

Jullis are from africa there ph requirement is around 8.2-8.5 in order for them to breed... And zebras on the other hand toerate quite high ph but i dont recommend it bec. Its from a different biotape. And jullis tend to very territorial and aggressive especially when breeding..

Post by **Barbie** » 17 May 2003, 06:04

Cichlidboy you did actually ask our opinions. I'm ever so sorry that you take offense at the name my mother chose for me, but alas, it is my name, just the same. If you find yourself unable to conduct yourself with proper decorum, I suggest you ask your questions on another board, where insults might be tolerated. I hope I make myself clear. There is no reason whatsoever to be insulting, just because the answer you get is not the one you hoped for.

I personally keep zebra plecos, and have kept and bred Julidochromis transcriptus "gombi" and would never have considered keeping them together, for the reasons previously mentioned. I'm sure if you ask your question enough places, you will eventually find someone to agree with you.

Barbie

bigfishguy · Post by **bigfishguy** » 17 May 2003, 16:51

the pleco should be ok in the 20 gallon tank,
and as far as price goes..
i can get one for $30-$40 1-2inches from snout to base of the tail.
right now i have a whole bunch of tiger plecos and im looking for some jaguar cats