Hypancistrus zebra

[tidioute06]

Wow what a neat looking fish. The Hypancistrus zebra (zebra pleco) is one of the most interesting fish i've seen. Seems they are quite difficult to obtain. I'm throwing around the idea of starting up a large long tank to simulate the river environment they like and try to breed them. Does anyone have one or maybe 2 and could give me some good info on setting up the perfect environment for them? Any first hand info would be much appreciated.

 

[wataugachicken]

i hope you have either a lot of time on your hands or an extra $400. these are not cheap fish, even as babies, and you pay a premium for any bigger than about 2 inches long. also, i don't imagine many quality breeders would sell them to you unless you have prior experience in fishkeeping and breeding plecos. just check out aquabid for some price estimates.

 

[Sploke]

User TwoTankAmin sells them in breeding lots of 5-8 fish, but I don't think he sells singles. He also has the best prices of anywhere I've seen so far. But, you're looking at $600-1000 investment and a few years before you can even try to breed them. You can buy proven breeders, but expect to pay $5-10k for a group.

Also check out zebrapleco.com.

 

[briggadane]

They are very attractive. The closest I found here was l168, but they are only 17.99 for 5-7 inchers.

 

[wataugachicken]

no. . . . that's just another kind of pleco called a butterfly pleco. they are different.

butterfly -

zebra -

sorry to burst your bubble. the price should have been a clue. it would be FAR more likely to see butterfly plecos mislabelled as zebras and asking $150, than to see mislabelled zebras for under $20. i think that ended about 10 years ago.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The two best places i know to find good info on zebras are:
http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/
and
http://www.planetcatfish.com/core/

You can read a running 2 year account of my experiences with them here http://www.fishaholics.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2288

 

[tidioute06]

The money isnt a problem and i'm young yet so i have the time. I just think it would be fun and somewhat profitable in the long run. Isnt that the american dream? Make some cash doing what you love?

 

[Lupin]

Ask for more queries before attempting it, Tid.

 

[tidioute06]

Oh i plan on researching this until my eyes bleed. My finance loves the patterns on the zebra. Told her i want to try and breed them she was all for it lol i might have left out the price of a breeding pair but hey just details..

 

[Mgamer20o0]

have you breed other fish or plecos before?