Sex my L046 zebra plecos?

[Icedcold]

First off they are very hard to feed, I don't know what or how to get them to eat, I have tried bloodworms but they are still not full and not eating. I have had them for 3 months after they have been passed on to me though. Here are some pictures

https://imgur.com/a/4djA5

[Jobro]

Hey there, can you add a picture of your tank? When are you feeding? during night?

They are very likely two males.

[Icedcold]

Here's the tank, they are just behind the sponge filters. All day for some reason.

Zebra pleco tank. https://imgur.com/gallery/B0kEn

And I know this is off topic, but what 2 Pleco species from these 2 species will be ok in my 90g planted community? And can breed in captivity if to choose to separate them.

L201, L168, L398, L177, L129, L034, L234

Im leaning towards the L201s, L168s, and L398s.

[TwoTankAmin]

Your tank is set up for you to like how it looks but not for what would make your zebras feel comfortable/safe. You need a lot more cover, places for them to hide. Caves, wood, rock structure. The best way I can explain how I set up my Hypancistrus tanks is this. My main zebra tank held 13 adults and some 55 assorted fry. It was a 30 gal breeder tank 36 in. x 18 in. x 13 in. People would look at the tank and ask me why there were no fish in it.

For them to feel safe being out in the open, they need to know they can bolt under cover any time or anywhere they are. The other thing is in the wild they do not live with a lot of plant life. When they are deeper there is too little light to support plants, when they are in higher flow, plants do not take hold. They also live in water which can get quite warm during the dry season and those temps are not plant friendly either. This does not mean you cannot keep them in tanks with plants, however, the plants do not represent cover to a zebra. They still need rock, wood and caves.

[Jobro]

I have to second TwoTankAmin, your tank is really not suited to house hypancistrus. This is exactly why I asked for pictures of the tank. When hypancistrus are thin they are either sick or the tank is not good for them.

Please do not get discouraged. As stated above, it is possible to keep them in a nice looking tank, you just need to add more cover for the fish! Add at least 2-4 pleco caves of their size and provide some shelter above them.

See here: download/file.php?id=21190&mode=view
There are caves, and the caves are covered by something, You can use slate for example!

It is also a very good idea, to cover at least the back or better also the sides of your tank with something darker. Any fish will feel very unsafe in your tank right now. And for plecos this is a nightmare as it is and the reason why they are hiding behind your filters. You need to fix it or your fish will die from stress and malnutrition at some point. Because stressed plecos do not eat!

Sorry for being tough on you. But as you noticed yourself, your fish are not doing well and it needs to be said out now, since your fish can't speak up for themselves.

Johannes

[Icedcold]

Where did you buy those caves? That tank looks nicely setup! Should I have the light on a lower setting?

[Jobro]

Yes, lowering the lightning will help relieve stress as well.

I am from germany, so I can't help you out finding a good supplier of pleco caves in your area, sorry. I am very confident there are plenty of americans around to help you out though ;)

[nvcichlids]

http://plecocaves.com/ .. easy solution ;)

[bekateen]

http://plecocaves.com/ .. easy solution ;)

I'll second that. Also there's Honeycomb caves. I've purchased from both and I've been 100% satisfied with both. Their designs/styles are very different; I appreciate that because it offers more variety of shapes for my fish.

Cheers, Eric

[Icedcold]

Should I tint the glass tops to make lighting lower? Blackwater?

[Jobro]

no, not needed. Get some bigger plants(echinodorus) and or some floating plants(frogbite) to dampen the lights.

foil-coating the backside and maybe sides of the tank would probably help, though.

anyhow, getting some more hiding places for them in there should be priority now. a bigger piece of driftwood can look terrific in a tank and provides shelter for plecos.

[Icedcold]

Will duckweed work? Or too much of a mess?

[Icedcold]

I have 3 filters for higher water circulation so........ idk how floating plants will bode. I thought you said more plants are bad.

[bekateen]

I don't advise using floating duckweed or the such with high current. It's the only way I know to kill duckweed, and then it just messes up your tank.

[Icedcold]

What can I use instead? Dont have access to high plants.

[Jobro]

Go to your favorite Aquarium/Petshop. Ask for a good piece of driftwood for your plecos and some hidings for plecos (caves,
half coconuts...). They will also have bigger plants available.

And no, more plants are not bad, you just need more shelter(stones, wood, caves) than only plants.

[Icedcold]

Oh, I see. Last questions, what can L46s be housed with in a 20 long? And what do people feed them? Mine aren't too excited for bloodworms.

[Jobro]

They will start eating once they are relieved of the stress. They are no picky eaters. They will eat most of the common pleco wafers/tabs. Frozen artemia. Repashy gel foods are a good choice as well.

[Icedcold]

Ah ok, I'll focus on making them happy in their biptope. Can they be housed with any fish?

[bekateen]

Ah ok, I'll focus on making them happy in their biptope. Can they be housed with any fish?

Hi Icedcold, please see my comments here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=45788&p=309823#p309823

[TwoTankAmin]

Because I saw no mention of this, I thought I should ask. At what temperature do you keep the tank?

[Icedcold]

83. I keep my heater set at 94 but it only reaches 83. (It's an Eheim Heater).

[bekateen]

For sure 83F is too low, but is 94F safe?

How many watts is your heater? If it can't reach your desired temp, you need to add a second heater (I prefer two lower watt heaters over one high watt heater).

Cheers, Eric

[Jobro]

83F is ~28°C, right? Don't think that would be necessarily too low for Hypancistrus Zebra, Eric?

My importeur says, he keeps new hypancistrus at 33°C (91F) during quarantine. I was a little worried too, but he said it's no big deal. Icedcolds plants won't survive it, though

Icedcold, your tank is open on all sides... it will take a lot to keep it any warmer than that during winter. Cover and insulate the sides and it will save you a lot on the electricity bill!

[Icedcold]

It's a 60 watt heater. I don't pay for electricity lol. My parents do

[bekateen]

83F is ~28°C, right? Don't think that would be necessarily too low for Hypancistrus Zebra, Eric?

Myself, I've never kept zebras. But my friends who do keep them up at 85-86F. I didn't mean to suggest that 83F is unhealthy, but rather that from what my friends say it's not going to give you the happiest fish.

I'm more concerned about the fact that Icedcold's thermostat is set at 94F. The fact that his tank isn't achieving that temperature says that the thermal gradient (real room temp compared to thermostat temp) is too great for the heater to overcome. But if he leaves the thermostat set that way and if the house warms up, he'll find the tank temperature rising proportionately. I'm not experienced with zebras, but if 94F was too high, I wouldn't want to risk losing my fish because of a temperature spike.

The real threat in my judgement is not the ability of the fish to temporarily tolerate high temps. It's the negative impact such high temps would have on water oxygen saturation. If his tank is not really well circulated/aerated and if temps rose to 94F, oxygen levels would plummet and the fish could die within a very short window of time. (To be fair, this can also occur at 83F too (it has to me), but not as quickly as compared to 94F.

It's a 60 watt heater. I don't pay for electricity lol. My parents do

I'm not quite sure where you're going with this. Do you mean that you have a low watt heater because you aren't paying the bill (i.e., being respectful of your parents' finances?)... If so admirable and understandable.


Cheers, Eric

[Icedcold]

Oh it's a heater up to 60 gallons sorry. Just noting I don't pay for the electricity so it isn't a problem for me if I need to do something extra. I have 2 sponge filters and an aqueon 20 running on the tank right now. Can I put other fish with them? Like German rams or other small Hypancistrus, guppies?

[Jobro]

Icedcold, I feel like you need to start reading up on your hobby and fishes yourself. There are tons of articles about keeping Zebra plecos. There are various examples on how to set up a tank for them. Don't go the lazy route by asking everything here that was already stated somewhere else and expect us to write it all up for you once more...

Take this as a starting point:
https://www.planetcatfish.com/shaneswor ... bra+Plecos

You should also fix your attitude on the use of energy, regardless of who pays for it...

[Icedcold]

Ok sorry for asking questions when I coulda went online first. Anyways here's the bipotope I created, I took rocks from outside and put a lot in, instead of using 1 big heater im using 2 small heaters, and I put on a lid to make sure the heat stays in, I reduced the plants and the strength of the light. PH is just super high at 8.4, and maybe not enough flow, I have 2 sponge filters and 1 aqueon 20 filter is that enough? Temperature is 86 to 84

New L046 biotope. https://imgur.com/gallery/Hf3x1

[Jobro]

Good to see you changed the tank in the right way.

Did your Zebras stop hiding behind the filters and went for the caves now?

You should only try feeding them after the lights turned off (at night). They are way more likely to come out and eat then.