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Looking to start a breeding colony of Zebra Plecos. First time setting up for a catfish breeding system so all criticism welcomed no matter how harsh it might be.

Here is my potential setup:

2x Aqueon 40G Breeders
2x Versa tank tops
1x Stack Rack
2x Eheim Pro 4 250 Canister or 4x large sponge filters rated at 40 gallons each
2x Finnex FungeRay Planted+
2x Eheim Jagers 125Watt
2x Hydor Aqamai KPS Wavemaker
1x Aqueon Quiet Flow 100 Air Pump
2x Penn Plax Bubble Wall
10-20x Plecocaves
2x Magnet Cleaners
6-12x Marimo Moss Balls
1x Marina Hang-On Breeding Box
50x Indian Almond Leaves

I was also thinking of partitioning the grow out tank with a thick foam insert. I also could add a eheim 250 classic to either tank if added filtration is needed. Reasoning behind splitting the tank would be to separate potential fry sizes to alleviate any aggressiveness to the small fry from larger.

Adult tank will be bare-bottom to make cleanup easy. Grow out tanks can be bare-bottom or with inert sand. Both tanks will have drift wood in them as well for grazing.

Please let me know if I am falling short or going over kill. Open to all advice! Thank you in advance!!

Bear in mind that there is no one single best or right way to set op a well functioning zebra breeding tank. Over the years I have changed my approach. I still have my original breeder tank running in pretty much the same way now since 2006. The fish still spawn.

I would make a couple of observations. Zebras do not come from stained waters, they come from clear (white) river waters. Zebras can be found at a variety of depths and flow rates. But for the most part there are no aquatic plants. So for sure I would forget about the catappas.

I do both bare bottom and sand bottom setups. Where I have more flow I tend to have minimal or no sand. I also do not have strong currents in any of my Hypancistrus tanks. I do have good flow and for sure good oxygenation which is essential. But I know people who do more flow than I and others who use only air driven filtration with great success. My feeling is that zebras are adapted to a high flow environment but that they do not have to have it to thrive.

When I first set up my breeder tank it was planted. Now all 13 of my Hypancistrus breeding and growout tanks have no plants at all. My reasons were wimple. When I need to work in the tanks, plants are usually in the way. Plus they need some level of care which means more work. They need lighting, which means another variable affecting things and more cost as well as more heat generation. However, there is no reason one cannot keep zebras in a planted tank in terms of its affecting their well being. One note, because I do no plants, I do not have lights running over the tanks and I never have to clean algae off of anything in those 13 tanks.

If you want to run sponges, consider using Poret cubes from Swiss Tropicals. If you opt for air driven filtration, you don't need air stones/bubble walls.

One last observation. My experience with heats over the years is that all brands from cheap to over-priced can fail and likely will over time. There are two dangers in this respect, over heating and boiling the fish or failing , and having the die from it being too cold. There fore I suggest two things. In general, use more than one heater. If you use a canister consider using a Hydor Inline heater. This will help mitigate failure of a heater from causing a fast temperature drop and will help more evenly heat a tank. Next, to guard against overheating, consider adding a temperature controller. I am a cheapskate sometimes, so I have been using an Azoo Micro controller which handles up to 800 watts of heaters. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=23735

I have had a couple of tanks "boil" from heater failure. Now I try to protect against that in certain tanks.

My rule of thumb for caves is at least one per adult zebra (regardless of the sexing). Caves can be used for sheltering/hiding as well as spawning. They do not have to be claimed to contribute to the well being of the group. I use an assortment of shapes/materials. I also have lots of wood, rocks and slate. I always remember that saying that "a happy zebra is a hiding zebra," so I want tons of cover in their tanks.

Finally, I think you are going overkill on circulation/aeration. You would be fine without the wave maker and the bubble walls. If you want some extra water movement, power heads or small pumps work well.

Sorry for being so long winded. I would restate that the above are mostly my opinions and just that. In the end you will find what works for you. Hopefully, other folks will chime in and you can then combine the ideas that appeal to you.

@TwoTankAmin

Thank you very much for your so called "Long winded" response. I find it extremely insightful from a veteran breeder. I will be putting the Swiss Tropicals filters and heater recommendations filters to use and drop the power to use.
I will also be dropping the powerheads/bubble stones/leaves. I may add powerheads if I find a large enough dead zone/area within the tank just for added precaution. The added precautions with dual heaters and controllers is something I will also be putting in place.

I was looking into a veggie & shrimp DIY food or Rapashy Morning Wood. Any insight into either or advice on what you use?

I'm not real current on the Repashy foods, but have the understanding that Morning Wood is designed for fish which rasp on wood (Panaque and related). If I'm correct on that, Hypancistrus will not really get much benefit to it. You'll want to find something with a bit more meat. Last I used Repashy, I was using either Meat Pie or Spawn and Grow for Hypancistrus.

Larry Vires

I was using the Meat Pie which has been discontinued. However, there is a good replacement for it, Bottom Scratcher. I recently exchanged a few emails with Allen Repashy about this. The two foods share most of the ingredients that are used, although not necessarily in the exact same proportions. However, there are some other differences. Some things in one not in the other. On balance I am willing to use the Bottom Scratcher in lieu of the Meat Pie. The main difference is the "meat" components. The Scratcher uses Insect Meal and Mussel Meal while Meat Pie used Fish Meal.

Larry is correct, Morning Wood is not great for zebras. Some people add it to their Repashy "mix" because it makes the food a bit more "solid." (I doubt adding 5 to 10% would harm them, but I don't do it.) However, some veggies are good for them. I believe that zebra fry need more veggies in their diet for the first few months than they do as adults. Because I tend to leave offspring in the breeding tanks to grow, I find mixing Soylent Green with the Bottom Scratcher means I know the youngsters will get their veggies and it is fine for the adults as well. I will use a 3 or 4 to 1 mix. I also use a lot of the Spawn and Grow, both plain and with some Soylent Green added. I really wish I had that when I was working with the tank strains of bristlenose.

I also feed a lot of frozen. Live would be the best option but it is where I drew the line years ago. But I don't want to hatch BBS especially since one can get frozen BBS, Cyclops and Copapods.

One more thing you should know about about me, i am not a master anything. I am a very lucky hobbyist. One of my greatest assets in our well water. I have been saying for years it contains a natural fish aphrodisiac. It is also apparently good for many SA fish as well as those from Africa and Asia which prefer softer water in the neutral pH range. My biggest skill is I do regular maint. on my tanks and change water.

So finally getting around to snagging these guys. Been a hectic year with moving and new job.. always something. With that said what are your parameters that you stick to? Also if you ever force fluctuations what do change them to temporarily?

Temp
PH
GH
KH
TDS

Zebras tolerate a fairly wide range of parameters, so the absolute values are not critical unless one is doing a dry and rainy season simulation. And then the critical factors are not absolute numbers but the differences in the numbers for each season. Seasons in the wild are not measured in days but in months. And for the most part the changes occur over time. The exception and the key is the onset of the rainy after the dry. The changes here occur in short order.

The dry season builds up over months. The water temp goes up, the TDS go up and the pH may rise a bit as well. And just when the numbers seem to be too extreme, in a matter of a few days it all changes significantly.

When we look at all the different potential set-ups and their specific parameters, the one parameter that can be similar for all of them is temperature. The water temp. at the peak of the dry season should be in the low 90sF range. This will get dropped into the high 70sF rapidly when we onset a rainy season.

It is rare that there is an exact recipe for spawning any given species which must be followed to the letter or there is no spawning. There are also multiple methods for achieving the same objective. I can harden my tap water and raise its temp. in a tank and then use my tap to be the rainy season. Or I can use my tap and let it get warmer and a bit harder and then use RO water to create the onset of the rainy season. The absolute numbers matter less than the change in those numbers.

None of the above touches upon diet which is also a key factor in spawning.

Truly appreciate all the information you are providing first off. I have all the notes I made last year in a note book which I did put emphasis on Brine Shrimp (try hatching but may move to frozen, Soylent Green with Bottom Scratcher, Soylent w/ Hatch and Grow for the babies. As far as veggies was thinking along the lines of Zucchini, Spinach, Peas. As far as the fry food I was also thinking of mixing in pollen into the baby food if I get that lucky.

Love to hear your thoughts as far as when you use what to induce breeding potentially and how much of the mixtures in your opinion and how often.

No two tanks are the same. A lot of the success in spawning things is a often a process of trial and error. Add to this there are multiple ways to achieve the same end, and the whole thing becomes a question of figuring out what works for you.

I am lazy, so my goal is always to achieve a desired result with the least effort and cost needed. So the first thing I try is to do "nothing" special. I provide good conditions both in terms of parameters and aquascaping and feed a quality varied diet. A lot of the time this is all the fish need. In the end, they spawn when they are ready not when we are. If "doing nothing" fails, I will fall back to the least effort solution next. Skip a water change or two, bump up feeding and time a big water change to the arrival of a storm.

Doing a full blown dry season and then a rainy season changeover is the most work which makes it my last resort. The problem is that there is no failsafe way to get results short of using hormones to induce spawning for getting zebras (and all the other plecos) to spawn.

I feel it is more important to understand the processes at work rather than trying to find a formula into which we can plugs things. A lot of the time all that is needed is not to do things which would discourage spawning. If you can understand the processes at work and why things work as they do in the wild, then adapt your fish and conditions to take advantage of this general knowledge.

Some folks spawn their zebras in pairs and get good results. Other folks spawn them in groups and also get good results. So you tell me which is the better or best way. I can tell you exactly what I do that works and then I can tell you that exact same thing also doesn't work as often as it does.

What I suggest is you read up on spawning zebras to get an idea of all the options. Then make a plan for your's. Put the plan into effect and see what happens. If it works, great, keep doing it. If it doesn't work, consider why not and change something and try again. And if you try a bunch of things and none of them works, you may just have to ignore them. Sometimes that works too.

Finally, please talk to other folks about what they do. What I do is neither the best nor the only way, it is merely what works for me.

Chris,
Words well spoken or written, could not agree more. Sometimes you may have a successful breeding group and decide to change setup or move them to a different tank and won't spawn again. This is not my experience, but a great breeder told me his story and to this date, no more spawning.
I am trying my best on L046, still need to find that fine point to make them click. Patience and lots of it.
Thank you for your wise words.
M. Ortiz

TwoTankAmin wrote: ↑26 Jun 2018, 22:14 No two tanks are the same. A lot of the success in spawning things is a often a process of trial and error. Add to this there are multiple ways to achieve the same end, and the whole thing becomes a question of figuring out what works for you.

I am lazy, so my goal is always to achieve a desired result with the least effort and cost needed. So the first thing I try is to do "nothing" special. I provide good conditions both in terms of parameters and aquascaping and feed a quality varied diet. A lot of the time this is all the fish need. In the end, they spawn when they are ready not when we are. If "doing nothing" fails, I will fall back to the least effort solution next. Skip a water change or two, bump up feeding and time a big water change to the arrival of a storm.

Doing a full blown dry season and then a rainy season changeover is the most work which makes it my last resort. The problem is that there is no failsafe way to get results short of using hormones to induce spawning for getting zebras (and all the other plecos) to spawn.

I feel it is more important to understand the processes at work rather than trying to find a formula into which we can plugs things. A lot of the time all that is needed is not to do things which would discourage spawning. If you can understand the processes at work and why things work as they do in the wild, then adapt your fish and conditions to take advantage of this general knowledge.

Some folks spawn their zebras in pairs and get good results. Other folks spawn them in groups and also get good results. So you tell me which is the better or best way. I can tell you exactly what I do that works and then I can tell you that exact same thing also doesn't work as often as it does.

What I suggest is you read up on spawning zebras to get an idea of all the options. Then make a plan for your's. Put the plan into effect and see what happens. If it works, great, keep doing it. If it doesn't work, consider why not and change something and try again. And if you try a bunch of things and none of them works, you may just have to ignore them. Sometimes that works too.

Finally, please talk to other folks about what they do. What I do is neither the best nor the only way, it is merely what works for me.

Well said Chris..... the same can be said about any pleco. The best advice any of us can give is when you find what works for you stick to it. And what works for one person may not work for the next....

Take care,
Chuck

Current grow out tank with the Aqamai KPS now both on the right side aimed at the waters surface. Tannins leaching for the past week and a half while the tank cycles. Also awaiting some slate caves and oxygenators for variety of caves and added oxygen saturation.

Advice needed
I will have 7-9 Plecos come end of month. These are being imported though "Tank raised". I don't trust anyone's system to be safe and looking to proactively treat these guys in a 20g QT tank separate from above. What do you guys & gals practice for proactive treatments of new L46's, if any at all?

I never treat without clear cause. I am a big fan of quarantining. A brand new tank which will only hold the zebras, is a Q tank itself. You do not need a separate tank. If all the fish are coming from a single source, they likely came from the same tank/system. If one has a disease or parasites etc., the odds are more than one will. So you would probably need to treat them all if you need to treat any.

Bringing in wild fish is a whole lot riskier than tank raised fish. It helps when you know the source of newly acquired fish. If you know they come from a healthy tank and from a responsible fishkeeper/breeder, the fish are likely to be healthy. All that said, I keep a med kit on hand to treat a host of potential problems. My experience has been fish will get "sick" at the most inopportune times and will often require a med one does not have and cannot get quickly. My solution has been to have more than I likely need on hand.

Bear in mind that even the most benign medication/treatment one might add to a tank is stressful to the fish to some degree. This in turn weakens the immune system/response. When we know what we are treating and about the medication we are using, the cure more than justifies the stress aspect. But if we are adding things without being certain of why, we may cause problems rather than prevent them.

In proactively treating wild caught fish we can have a good idea of what to expect in terms of the nature of the problems. This is often parasites or worms. Then we need to be aware that such fish likely lack immunity to things commonly found in tanks more so than in the wild where they live. With the fish you are getting, all of this is irrelevant.

I would bring them in and do nothing beside keeping an eye on them. Make sure they are eating and make sure they are mostly hiding- a happy/healthy zebra is a hiding zebra. Seeing them out in the open can often be the first sign something may be wrong.

As always, this is just my way of doing things.

TwoTankAmin wrote: ↑09 Aug 2018, 20:48 A brand new tank which will only hold the zebras, is a Q tank itself.

I was leaning to a clean bottom QT to watch the waste to see any signs. With that said, I did not even think of not needing a QT tank with a species only tank. As always TwoTankAmin I truly appreciate your detailed responses and the amount of time you put in. Thank you as always!