Setting up a Zebra (L046) tank

[Pogaf]

Hello everyone! It's been ages since I was on an aquatics forum, but I'd love some opinions on getting a tank set up.

My dad currently has my two Zebra Plecos. Hopefully when the weather cools down in the fall I'll have him ship them out to me (NC to AZ) so I can FINALLY have them again! My little guys are about 6 years old and haven't spent any time with me

I'm thinking of doing a 20g long set up for them- fine gravel substrate with stacked slate and caves for their hiding pleasure. I would like to create a river effect with a canister filter and maybe an additional powerhead pushing water from one end to the other. So here are my questions:

1: Which canister filter? I've used Fluvals (405) on my bigger tanks. Not a bad experience, but not a great one. I'm fine with them but am unfamiliar with the performance of other brands. Probably my biggest complaint with the Fluval was cleaning the sucker- it was a pain to even get the top off and then it was a mess to do anything to! Then my dad broke it and back to AquaClears we went.

2: Tank mates? My girls live alone now, with the exception of a couple REALLY old Amano Shrimp. Seriously, those things must be 7 years+ by now. I'd like to get something else in there, just for a little movement. Otherwise it'll just look like an empty tank cuz heaven knows they don't come out to play during the day. I was thinking of a school of dwarf Rainbows. I love Rainbows to death and smaller ones would probably love the current. My only worries is them compromising the plecos' ability to get food. They get fed at night now when the lights are off, but all the rainbows I've ever kept have been enthusiastic eaters.

3: Plants? Just for funsies? I guess that leads into my other question of whether or not to get a light. They almost never have their light on now but I'd like to have an actual tank to display.

4: Shipping recommendations? I ship geckos and am familiar with the process, but my dad would need to be able to package and ship these for me. I've seen kits online that I'll probably get. I would wait until the AZ temps are under 80- I assume it's best to ship them around the same temperature as my geckos (65-80), but I'm unsure about the necessity of a cold or heat pack.

Any other thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[vanillarum]

When I had my zebras (5 or 6 years total), I was told that oxygen was more important than current, especially at the higher temps that zebras like (84-86°). There are no plants in their natural habitat, but I kept some anubias with mine and they did not bother the plants. I had mine in a bare bottom set up, with at least a cave for each male, slate and rocks. I also ran Aquaball 1212s in the tank for oxygen. Never ran a canister filter, always ran Aquaclears, usually 2 of them. Remember, a happy zebra is a hiding zebra. Hope this helps.

[mikebren12]

Hi mate,

I run a 125l tank with a trio of zebs.. I use an eheim thermofilter with a Venturi attached, also run a eheim biofilter and an eheim aqua power head running straight across the front of the caves. Creates extra flow, which they seem to like. I use caribsea sand as a substrate which is slightly heavier than other sands I find, lots of slate shelving with 4 small ceramic caves. I do also have Anubis plants, more for look than anything, and a small piece of planted bogwood..

I keep mine @ 28.5 oC and a Tds of 125, ph is 7.3...

I do 25% water changes twice weekly with tap water treated with Prime.

I feed froxpzen lobster eggs and cyclops, with Tetra prima.

Good luck mate

Mike

Had 7 spawns since December last year, 1 every month...

[Dave Rinaldo]

Planet Catfish has a sister site http://www.zebrapleco.com/

[vanillarum]

And for the OP (original poster) frozen lobster eggs are NOT available here in the states. I fed my zebras NLS Thera +, Kens earthworm sticks, frozen bloodworms, frozen shrimp, and Kens soft and moist krill. ood luck.

[Pogaf]

Thanks for all the replies

I have a powerhead running in the tank right now for the extra oxygen- it sprays a ton of tiny bubbles into the tank and the filter churns them when it hits the surface. They've been doing fine with that setup for many years.

Food-wise I'm pretty sure my dad is just feeding them shrimp pellets. They're both females (at least last time I checked), so I'm not too worried about getting them plump for spawning unless I can find them a boy. Once they're out here I'll focus on getting them a more diverse diet. When I had my first trio (heater accident took them ) I did weekly small water changes.

I never used to have any water parameter problems, but my AZ water is hard hard hard, so I'll probably be pre-treating it and letting it sit. I hate messing with pH buffers, but I should be alright if I do it carefully and get the good stuff.

I'll be using a fine gravel as substrate. Tried sand once and hated it!

Any feedback on potential tank mates?

[vanillarum]

Tank mates are tough because there are none in the wild. That said, people have kept them with sterbai corys (myself included), and other community "dither" fish. Personally, I would not take the chance and I would keep them by themselves. Good luck.

[apistomaster]

I've used cherry shrimp in my pleco breeding tanks. The 2 never interact. Fry are never at risk. Hope you find a male. There ought to be someone who has a surplus of them.

[Taratron]

In az here, but west side. You have a super narrow shipping time, so be careful. Best bet is to have them held at the airport or the shipping hub.

[Juiceyfish]

I'm iffy on the tank mates too as I have my l046 with a black ghost knife fish and a gold gourami and she seems to be ok but I keep watch!!