# Zebra Pleco



## sagemane (Feb 27, 2007)

I am looking for one of these to put in my community tank. Are they easy to keep? easy to find? and are they exspensive?

Any Help would be great

Thanks


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## intravenous (Dec 20, 2006)

sagemane said:


> I am looking for one of these to put in my community tank. Are they easy to keep? easy to find? and are they exspensive?
> 
> Any Help would be great
> 
> Thanks


At least over £100 for a baby one. Not very easy to find either.


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

I know they are expensive. I don't know much aboupt the rest.

I'd imagine care to be similar/identical to a common plec.

I know from private breeders they tend to be about £50 whereas the last one I saw in a petshop was £295.

It was nice though 

Mason


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## intravenous (Dec 20, 2006)

quixotic_axolotl said:


> I know they are expensive. I don't know much aboupt the rest.
> 
> I'd imagine care to be similar/identical to a common plec.
> 
> ...


Common plecos are pretty hardy as far as fish/catfish go, as far as I'm aware zebro plecos are pretty sensitive...


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## DaveM (Oct 18, 2006)

zebra plecs are rather sensitive to water quakity so I wouldn't recomend them for a first fish


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

intravenous said:


> Common plecos are pretty hardy as far as fish/catfish go, as far as I'm aware zebro plecos are pretty sensitive...


thanks for the heads up 
Like i'm always careful to say in this bit of the forum I don't know a great deal about tropical fish.


Are all the different plecs (L numbers etc) actually different species? I always assumed they were somehow just 'morphs' of the same species like all the different coloured corns and therefeoe that the care was the same


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## intravenous (Dec 20, 2006)

quixotic_axolotl said:


> thanks for the heads up
> Like i'm always careful to say in this bit of the forum I don't know a great deal about tropical fish.
> 
> 
> Are all the different plecs (L numbers etc) actually different species? I always assumed they were somehow just 'morphs' of the same species like all the different coloured corns and therefeoe that the care was the same


They're different species :razz:.


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

whereabouts do you live? 

there's someone on the fish forum i'm on that has some for sale in Milton Keynes... mature male ones... £175 each. 

sami


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## DaveM (Oct 18, 2006)

they would be good for a breeding project, I may try to bred some


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

they are expensive... so breeding them would be cool. 

people are always after them.. at a reasonable price! 

sami


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## DaveM (Oct 18, 2006)

I know, in the aquatics shops around me, they cost £200, rather steep, lol


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

yeah, they go crazy for them on the fish forum...

if ppl sold them for less... ie £100 then they would sell more.. and quickly. 

plecs seem to have loads of babies, so would make your money back and more! 

sami


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## intravenous (Dec 20, 2006)

The guy asking for them is the same guy asking for help because his fish are dying...I would recommend he get that sorted before he goes for something like a zebra pleco.

I personally stayed away from zebra plecos because I think a rare fish like that should be left for the breeders until its numbers have increased. I think it would be ashame to waste a single fish on a beginner tank, or just as a display. That's just my opinion though :smile:.


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

zebras will rarely be below 100-150 quid each. You see them for less avoid them as there is little chance of them being high quality ones.

Carewise, they are quite sensitive. Keep them in 'discus' style water, ie soft, slightly acidic. Pref. a 50/50 RO (reverse osmosis) rain water mix.


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## sagemane (Feb 27, 2007)

I am a She!! Actually lol


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## serpentkid100 (Mar 7, 2006)

they are basicaly extinct now, so you would be lucky to find one, however if you do then be ready to pay for loads as they are hard to come accross


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

as i said... if anyone wants one... £175 for a mature male. 

will check if he still has them if anyone actually wants one.


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

can you find out where in milton keynes for me.

they are't nearly extinct, its just the laws in brazil which stop exportation.


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## bosshogg (Nov 19, 2006)

serpentkid100 said:


> they are basicaly extinct now, so you would be lucky to find one, however if you do then be ready to pay for loads as they are hard to come accross


nope not true sorry there were getting critical in the home country of Brazil so a total ban was put on to the numbers increased there was talk of them been taking of last year but there have extended the ban for at least enougher 18 months.

in this country there are many breeders that breed them, the survial rate of the young is quite low compared to other L-numbers hence the high price but if you know where to look (private breeders) there not hard to come across, i have been offered several breeding trios but have alwasy passed up as i would prefere someone with lots of L-number breeding experience to breed them, as there will probaly have more expereince with them than me, once the price falls and there numbers increase i will get a trio as i love these plecs, and there look much better int he flesh than in pics

Clare


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## sami (Oct 23, 2006)

bosshogg said:


> nope not true sorry there were getting critical in the home country of Brazil so a total ban was put on to the numbers increased there was talk of them been taking of last year but there have extended the ban for at least enougher 18 months.
> 
> in this country there are many breeders that breed them, the survial rate of the young is quite low compared to other L-numbers hence the high price but if you know where to look (private breeders) there not hard to come across, i have been offered several breeding trios but have alwasy passed up as i would prefere someone with lots of L-number breeding experience to breed them, as there will probaly have more expereince with them than me, once the price falls and there numbers increase i will get a trio as i love these plecs, and there look much better int he flesh than in pics
> 
> Clare


I must admint the one we saw the other week in the mill was stunning to look at....


MASON


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

they aren't nearly extinct. true the numbers have declined but they were never a very common fish anyway. being a naturally rare animal, means that they are always comparitively close to extinction. But the numbers of captive animal push the entire population way above nearly extinct, and these animals have to be counted. You can't just wave them aways by saying that they don't count because they aren't wild. Theres animals around that are only found in captivity but that doesn't mean the species is extinct


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## cryosi (Dec 4, 2006)

go do some reading here it might help understand why L46 hypancistrus zebra is worth more money these days more than double the price when i used to keep them. Home - The Complete Online Zebra Pleco L046 Resource
Very hard species to care for with water requirements etc. well worth the money thou if anyone buys them, not a beginner by any means. One of my favourite pleco's.:smile:


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