L-46 Zebra Plecos

[misterted]

So these are pretty cool.
I checked on Aquabid and they are really expensive.
What's the deal with these?
Can they be bought cheaper than on Aquabid?
How difficult is it to breed them?

I'm really curious.

[AlishanAS]

I don't go on Aquabid anymore. I know somebody from Germany was asking big bucks for adults. How much are they?

As wild fish are making their way into the country despite the ban and more fish are being bred, you can see the price dropping over the last year or so.

[misterted]

Typically they are averging out at $250 per fish.
there is a guy in Germany that is asking Ferrari money for large groups of adults.
So they are banned here? I need to find out more about them.

[AlishanAS]

They are not banned here.

At least I hope not as there will be an adult wild L046 at the auction. :becky:

They are on the Brazilian no export list along with a lot of other Hypancistrus.

[Longstocking]

Just be carefull when buying them right now. From what I have heard the ones that were just smuggled in don't do too well. Some have bought them and then they were dead within days in their tanks.

The asking price right now is 250 but I would make sure they have been in the states for at least a month. Just my 2 cents.

Frybabies has some... as well but she got them the legal way and they are about twice the size. The price is quite high form her but they won't die on ya ;)

They have very small clutches.... I am breeding L270's the chocolate zebra. Just as hard to breed.... I would compare them to some of the more delicate tangs... like Xenotilapia etc.

[Zippo]

One of our NY members breeds them. :becky:

[Flareside]

King Richard or that cichlid news guy?

[Pete]

TwoTankAmin.

Shark Aquarium had some @ $170 two weeks ago.

[AlishanAS]

TwoTankAmin.

Shark Aquarium had some @ $170 two weeks ago.

How big were they Pete? 1" or less?

[Pete]

1.5 perhaps? I wasn't paying too much attention.

[TwoTankAmin]

Pricing depends upon who you are buying from and exactly what you are buying. Like any fish the smaller ones are cheaper and the pirce goes up with size with proven breeders commanding the most.

They are not particularly difficult to breed once they are big/old enough, and therein lies the rub. For the best results one should have fish in the 3-4 year old range for breeding. Fortunately they are a long lived fish and once they start spawing they will continue to do so for many many years. Of course the hardest part is getting the first spawn. bear uin mind they are seasonal spawners and can a bit of effort to get going.

There are at least two good sites for zebra info: http://www.zebrapleco.com/forum/ and http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=168 (note there are 149 registered keepers many of who have spawned them).

[Zippo]

Thanks T, i was waiting for you to come outa da woodwork and answer any Q's.:becky:

[Picklefish]

While my zebras haven't spawned, only 2.5yrs old. I do have a pr of L333 Hypancistrus.
They threw over 80 fry the summer of '07. Of course with my luck they haven't done too much of anything since I moved them into their new home in the fishroom.

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

They are not banned here.

At least I hope not as there will be an adult wild L046 at the auction. :becky:



As a guest or as part of the rare pleco raffle ?

[fischfan13]

As a guest or as part of the rare pleco raffle ?

The post you quoted was from last years auction.

[vanillarum]

There is a guy here in the states selling WC zebras for $100 each, minimum of 5, I believe. He is waiting on his next shipment now. He is quite trustworthy and has been doing this for a while. Zebras are banned from export from Brazil, which is the only place in the world they live in the wild. Many fish suppliers are now bringing them out thru other countries, hence the supply. There are, however, very few coming here, as the Japanese are paying 5x what we are for them. If you are interested, PM me and I will give you his info. Good luck.

[AMBUSHPREDATOR]

When my wife stares over my shoulder and sees pleco's and catfish all she ever says is why would anyone want them they're ugly . As I was scanning this thread she goes wow that's nice why don't you get one of those. Woman can just smell expensive stuff whether it's shoes cars or fish it seems. Cry mao.:sad-smiley-002:

[fishboy]

i used to c these things years ago going for 100-125$.. they shot up into the 200s outta nowhere.. i dont think the prices are coming down,,i think there going up..

[Longstocking]

While this is an old post... no harm in talking about these...

Right now I believe they are 250???

They were up to 400-500 at one point. Still at the catfish auction I saw them go for around 300 I think. Lower than they were selling on AB.

Tom's tangs has trios for sale that are breeders....

[TwoTankAmin]

When the prices shot up the result was the illegal collection and smuggling out of Brazil began on a large scale. The prices rapidly came down for wc fish of all sizes. The problem was that the fish which made it here were not in the best of shape. Many who imported them were not experienced in their proper care and acclimation and the result was there were a lot of dead zebras both in importers' tanks and in the tanks of buyers. Not all of the sellers had these problems and there are a few decent ones. As vanillarum posted, he can connect you with one.

I am still breeding them and actually sell them at a smaller size and for more money than one can find wild caughts for and I still have a waiting list.

I am not so sure when there will be another wave if imports as the fish is a seasonal one and it lives deep in fast flowing waters which means they are almost impossible to collect during the rainy season. Rainy season for zebras runs from about December to May so I would be surprised to see loads of zebras arriving for a few months unless they have been secreted someplace for the past few months.

On another note, the Brazilian government looks to be proceeding with the damn on the Xingu which will more than likely result in zebras becoming extinct in the wild. The extinctions will not be limited to just zebras either. Many of the more exotic plecos, esp hypancistrus, come from the Xingu as well as many more common ones.

[fishboy]

my other ??? is,,, if alot of people have them and plentyful,, then why r they still so expensive?? i dont c people jumpin on them @ $200 ea.. even if they r not imported anymore,, theres still alot of people w them in the states here..

[joe_jaskot]

my other ??? is,,, if alot of people have them and plentyful,, then why r they still so expensive?? i dont c people jumpin on them @ $200 ea.. even if they r not imported anymore,, theres still alot of people w them in the states here..
Any fish that is not easily bred always commands a good price.

[TwoTankAmin]

It has to do with a few factors. First it takes several years to as many as five to get zebras to start breeding. Once you do anything over about 12 fry is great and you very rarely get much over 15 or 16. They are also seasonal spawners and will spawn for about 7-8 months and then hiatus for 5 or 6. This fact in the wild effects collecting. They can only be caught during the dry season, during the rainy season the depth of the water combined with the strength of the current makes it almost impossible.

Also, it is a lot easier to keep adults alive and healthy than to grow out fry to 6 months or more as losses can be high.

And what do you mean by a lot of people? Despite the influx of illegally caught zebras last year, most folks who want them don't have them and many who got these last year lost them fast. Try buying tank raised zebras and you will see they cost more and are harder to find.

[chris1932]

If you listen to Heiko Blehers interview on Frank Falcones "sounds fishy to me" interview you will learn that there are huge facilities in the the far east breeding L-046 in huge numbers. It is only a matter of time before thy drive the price down. L-046 will always be a rare fish and all brazilian hypancistrus are protected. When you see them it is prudent to buy them.

[Longstocking]

Chris.. it's just if the person will sell or not :croc: Then it's if you can afford them :rant:

I don't have zebras... and haven't really wanted them ( If I want to see them I go up to Julies lol) . I guess my love will always be tangs :becky: But, I do have a few Hyps as you know. I think one of the important things to remember with these guys is to keep them in breed group numbers if at all possible. This might sound like a plug... but it's the reason I offer such a good deal on a certain hyp I sell. I'm hoping that people keep them and breed them :becky:

[TwoTankAmin]

I have listened to Heiko's presentation.

That Asian massive breeding story has been repeated now all over the net for a few years. The facts regarding breeding zebras make it almost impossible for that story to be true. It has been discussed in depth at a few pleco sites I frequent.

And if by some remote chance the Asians are out there hormoning another batch of fish, you can bet that they too will be a weakened strain. Hormone induced spawns never produce hardy stock in the long run.

I am a member of a pleco site where heiko will answer member questions, I asked him about zebras and he was kind enough to reply. You can read it here http://www.plecoworld.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=449