15 Zebra plecs

Busta · Post by **Busta** » 23 Feb 2005, 17:21

I have 15 zebra plecs only 1 inch in size when they are big enough is this a fair amount to breed with? or do i need more please mail me back with answers thanks

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 23 Feb 2005, 17:38

You should be fine with the numbers, in fact you probably have plenty more than you need.

There are a couple of articles in "Shane's world" where you can find info on breeding, both specifically on Hypancistrus Zebra, and on general breeding tips for Loricariid's (pleco's).

One of the main reasons for needing a colony is that the female(s) will mate with the Dominant male. If you only have one male and one female, the male has no other male to show it's dominance to, so the female won't know that he's the right male to mate with, and thus wait for another male to come around... Which of course doesn't happen unless you add another male.

But you've got plenty of time to read up on the subject, as I suspect it will take between a year and two to get yours big enough to breed. They need to be at least two inches for breeding. They also need good feeding and good oxygenation of the water to get into condition to breed.

You posted another post about caves. You do NEED some sort of cave, as these fish are cave-breeders. From the reports I've read, there's no particular design of cave that is fantastically better than others. It's most important that the cave is the right size for the male, rather than it being a specific material or shape. I'm sure there are commercially available caves, and there are ways to create caves from your own designs. Not sure if there is anyone in the UK selling commercial caves, but there's some advertised in the for-sale section from the US.

[Note: I've not even seen a live H. Zebra, so I'm only going by things that I've read elsewhere.]

Also, it's probably better if you post ONE post with all questions, rather than posting several times, as the thread becomes quite hard to follow after a while when it's spread over three or four different subjects.

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Mats

Post by **Barbie** » 23 Feb 2005, 18:02

Busta I've had my zebras spawn as just pairs. More fish increases your chances, but especially with F1's, I wouldn't worry about needing enough to find fertile females. They should all be. Good luck with them and congratulations!

Barbie

Busta · Post by **Busta** » 23 Feb 2005, 19:24

i brought someones whole spawn what is the ratio M/F or do they not follow is just a random? is there a chance i have all males or vice versa? say out of the 15 i get 13 males and 2 females would 1 of them females breed with one of my male? or both of them breed with the alpha male?

Tom2600 · Post by **Tom2600** » 24 Feb 2005, 00:33

A nice colony you have there. Will get a lot of people envious (including myself). You will have plenty of time to wait and plan your breeding method. It will take probably two years to get them to breeding size. If you want some of the best info on the net regarding current L046 breeding, visit http://www.zebrapleco.com

It would seem the cave size is often the most critical factor in breeding most plecos. They have been spawned in most water conditions.

Let me know if you can spare a few!

Regards

Tom

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 24 Feb 2005, 08:15

Busta wrote:

i brought someones whole spawn what is the ratio M/F or do they not follow is just a random?

You really ought to consider and outcross instead of line breeding these fish!

And sex ratios is many fish are affected by environmental conditions during the spawn and some even during their lifespan (gonadal plasticity and sequential hemaphrodites). Not sure on H. zebra though.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 24 Feb 2005, 10:10

Busta wrote:i brought someones whole spawn what is the ratio M/F or do they not follow is just a random? is there a chance i have all males or vice versa? say out of the 15 i get 13 males and 2 females would 1 of them females breed with one of my male? or both of them breed with the alpha male?

You will probably only have one female breed with one male at any given time, but they are not monogamus, so the male may well mate with a different female for the next spawn.

As someone else mentioned, you have plenty to get more than one colony, so you may want to consider splitting them. You have a while to consider that tho', as they need to be at least 2 inches before they will spawn.

Paul makes a good point: You don't want to breed with brothers and sisters, as this will weaken the genetical strength of your off-spring, and you may bring out genetical defects. Once yours start getting to breeding size, you should consider swapping your males or females with someone else who has some (and of course, the ones you're getting shouldn't have the same parents as yours). [If you want to, you could swap some males and some females, but you should avoid having brother & sister as parents whichever way you swap yours].

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Mats

Busta · Post by **Busta** » 24 Feb 2005, 18:54

ok ill buy 10 more, not a prob but even if i did swap them around how could i be shaw i wasn't still breedin brother and sister?

Busta · Post by **Busta** » 24 Feb 2005, 18:56

if i split into 2 different groups and bred them and got 2 sets of fry could i then cross the 2 fry or would that be the same as brother and sister? or more niece and nephew ? if you get what i mean

Maarten · Post by **Maarten** » 24 Feb 2005, 19:09

Busta wrote:ok ill buy 10 more,

OMG.. you have 15 and gonna buy 10 more

the L046 cost between â?¬99 and â?¬150,- overhere

Busta · Post by **Busta** » 24 Feb 2005, 19:13

hehe i know aint life beautiful, yeah they cost the same over here too!

Busta · Post by **Busta** » 24 Feb 2005, 19:16

i would like to establish a fish room on just zebra plecs all different ways to breed them i am just starting out so i am trying to get together about 5/6 colonies! ( plus they sell for mega bucks ) lol

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 25 Feb 2005, 10:04

Ok, so here's how it works:
The best breeding stock is fish that has no common ancestry. This is where Wild-caught fish comes into breeding stocks.

So, let's say you went and got a wild-caught zebra male (assuming you could find them). You can now cross that male with any of your females, no problem.

You could also get a wild-caught female and cross that with any of your males. No problem there either.

Crossing the off-spring of either of these is less good, but better than if the parents where also brother/sister.

You certainly have enough fish already, so I don't really see the point in spending money and space on more fish. It's better if you TRADE (swap) some of your fish with someone else who also have zebra's, once your's are mature enough to identify the sex of. You could already start three-four colonies with your fish, assuming you an even mix of males and females. So do you have three or four 100-150 liter tanks sitting about ready to take your zebras?

It's obviously your money, but if it was me, I'd invest it in grow-out tanks so that you can grow the off-spring, rather than getting more breeding stock.

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Mats