Starting A Breeding Program

[JenCliBee]

HI ALL

Rite before any 1 gets on my back about wanting 2 do this , i,v thought about it long and hard and beens they my favourite fish i really want 2 do it i still need 2 do alot of research and this project probably wont be fully done untill around 6- 8 mnths time just wanted 2 know abit of info first

rite they idea is a 5'x2'x2' (470l or there around) tank all the relevent heating filtering etc etc

i understand they like a fast flowing tank well this aint a problem as the tank will be perfect in every way i have alot of time on my hand and plenty of experience with fish in general just not zebra plecs hence y am i here

rite i was looking around a breeding colony of around 7 plecs how many males 2 females i dont know because i need 2 do alot of research first.


also i was planiing on breeding other small plecs at same time would i need 2 different tank with this idea or would they settle enough with zebra plecs in same tank

this is going 2 be a very expensive hobby i know

but u can also take this a good thing cause if i was willing 2 spend this much money doing this i would obviously be dedicated enough 2 see it through

any advice would be apprieciative so please let me know ur views weather good or bad

thanx jenclibee

 

[bam_emma]

I dont have any advice on the research bit, but i think its a good idea as its a very rewarding thing and even though you can still loose some its nice to see them grow.

 

[windy 1958]

you will have a hard time finding adult zebs especially pairs
you will need 2 tanks if your thinking of breeding other plecs as zebs dont compete for food very well
have you had a look at this site www.zebrapleco.com you should find all the info about zebs on there

 

[andyj]

you'll want 2 females to every male

mature adult females are fetching over £350 each at the moment

head to the link that windy has posted above, and you'll find all the info you'll need.....

 

[Darkstar]

you'll want 2 females to every male

not so at all. As long as you can obtain a female and male then you have the potential to breed them. But the more the better.

rite they idea is a 5'x2'x2'

That's a far bigger tank than you need and may even be counter productive for spawning, a 3x1x1 would be sufficient for 7 zebs or even a 2.5x1x1.

rite i was looking around a breeding colony of around 7 plecs how many males 2 females

Chances of you finding a colony or 7 for sale is pretty remote, kind of rocking horse sh*t remote, and expect to pay probbaly 2 grand upwards for a colony of 7.
Much better would be to source individuals and create your own colony.

Zebrapleco.com or Plecofanatics.com are both good sources of info on zebs.

 

[JenCliBee]

That's a far bigger tank than you need and may even be counter productive for spawning, a 3x1x1 would be sufficient for 7 zebs or even a 2.5x1x1.

i dicided 2 go slightly smaller with tank anyways not that small but maybe 4'x2'x2' ish i thought maybe a waste of size for 5 foot just for these and gives me more space for more tanks in future lol

Much better would be to source individuals and create your own colony.

i gree thats wot i was planning on doing getting 7 from differnet sources no chance of inbreeding that way wont get them all at same time i dont think i dont think even for these i can justify 2k straight away but maybe a couple every couple of mnths maybe ,id imagine adding others at l8r date would be fine

also i wasnt planning on buying adults i was planning on young maybe 3mnths old (1 inch or so )
and rearing them then starting trying 2 breed when there old enough

its still in the thinking about how/when stage at the moment first is getting the tank i want lol

thanx for replies so far guys and gals

 

[Darkstar]

i dicided 2 go slightly smaller with tank anyways not that small but maybe 4'x2'x2' ish i thought maybe a waste of size for 5 foot just for these and gives me more space for more tanks in future lol

A waste of a good tank imo. They're not going to use anything above the first 5" at most, so a two foot high tank is wasted space and will only make it more difficult to clean and catch any fry you may need to remove.

 

[smithrc]

Agreed.. lot of water for not a lot of fish.

If your looking for 1" fish they should be about a year old - 12 weeks and they will be very small.

 

[windy 1958]

they have some zebs at pier aquatics at the mo i think there £125 each and over an inch long