I got my first Hypancistrus zebra years ago. It was a gorgeous male fish who I named Caesar due to his regal looks; I remember sitting in front of the tank at night admiring him. I am still as attracted by the simplicity and harmony of the Hypancistrus zebra pattern; I consider them one of the most beautiful species. To me, they are real gems of nature.
Ceasar was soon joined by a couple of other wild caught conspecifics; over a period of time I ended up with a considerable colony, consisting of F0 and F1 fish from different sources. Alongside a great number of other hobbyists I have heard that this fish is super sensitive, difficult to keep and difficult to spawn. My experience has been different. Below I describe how I have kept and bred my fish. Along the line I point out where my experience differs from what is widely accepted.
Tank Setup
It is usually recommended to keep Hypancistrus zebra in a well oxygenated tank, with fast water flow, soft, slightly acidic water and subdued lighting. This fish is not considered to be a competitive feeder so the hobbyist has to be careful when it comes to selecting tankmates for it. Further, the tank has to be equipped with plenty of rocks, caves and wood for the fish to hide in or under.
I was after Hypancistrus zebra for a while but even before the ban in January 2005 the fish were not found in abundance in LFSs. When I got Caesar (who measured at the time 4cm TL) I treated him like a rarity. He was given his own 40 lit tank. I spent hours over hours adjusting my tap water to suit his alleged requirements and ended up putting more time in taking care of him than enjoying him. His public appearances were few and far between; his growth rate suicidally slow.
Hindsight is a beautiful thing. I can see now why the fish wasn’t coming out and why he was so “edgy” and annoyed every time I got to see him. I was fussing too much in his tank, making sure the gravel was spotless, the water was sparkling clean and so on. The fish was living in an artificial environment where it got disturbed way too often.
As it happened I needed to use his tank to isolate one of my other fish so at some stage Caesar ended up joining my 450 lit tank with other plecos. The marked differences between this tank and his previous one were:
- The pH was higher at 7.6 The temperature was lower at 27 oC
- The flow was slower (about 23 times per hour)
- The water was harder (medium hard)
- The tank was fully lit, though it did have caves, slate and wood for the fish to hide
- The tank was inhabited by other fish, some of whom were pretty fast eaters and rather aggressive fish. These included panaques, my gibbie, Leporacanthicus, some young L25s and so on. The tank was also shared by my young Heros efasciatus and other mid water fish.
Caesar adjusted fine. He initially took refuge behind the slate and I didn’t see him for a while. Next time I saw him I could not believe my eyes: he had doubled in size and was strolling confidently, in plain light, pushing the L264s to get to the food!
Based on this experience, repeated over time with other Hypancistrus zebras, I would suggest hobbyists wishing to keep, or keeping, these fish consider to what extent
- is fast flowing water necessary for the fish? A fast flow forces the fish to use much more energy to move around, thus impeding them from gaining body mass. Fast flowing waters are usually way more oxygenated but if the requirement is highly oxygenated water this can be achieved using a variety of other methods (overflows, increased aeration, venturi etc). I would suggest that a water turnover of 5 times per hour is sufficient for the fish to thrive.
- are Hypancistrus zebra a shy, non competitive feeder? My own experience indicated that most of my fish were extremely competitive when it came to feeding or fighting, even against much larger tank mates (see photo below).
- Hypancistrus zebra have a greater need for clean water than any other fish. I could mention at least 10 other species, including L260 (Queen Arabesque) and L264s that I found way more sensitive to water conditions than Hypancistrus zebra. In general, I wouldn’t recommend keeping any fish in unsuitable water. Clean water is a requirement of all fish, not just a prerogative reserved for some.
- Hypancistrus zebra prefer low lighting. In my experience the fish adapt fine in any kind of lighting conditions. The fish will be initially more comfortable under low lighting but will soon adapt to stronger lights. However, they will not spawn if light gets in their cave or the entrance is directly lit from above. Fish that have spent a considerable amount of time under dim lighting will find it more difficult to adjust to brighter lighting conditions, but this is to be expected. It should be noted that by dim lighting I refer to moon light or other low output lamps. I use regular aquarium lamps (bright white) and make sure there is a good number of long leafed plants in the tank to provide shade for fish who prefer it.
- the fish do better in soft, acidic water. This requirement is mainly based on the reported conditions of the biotope of the fish; as such it is the subject of a separate discussion. In captivity, Hypancistrus zebra has been reported to grow well and spawn in both neutral and alcaline water. In our experience the fish grow quicker in neutral to slightly alcaline water. The soft, acidic water of Manchester resulted in slower growth of different batches of fry while fry from the same batch who were taken to Athens by George J. Reclos and were brought up in medium hard, neutral water, manifested considerably better growth rates (temperature and food were the same in both cases).
- the fish needs really high temperatures to flourish. Different hobbyists keep the fish in varying temperatures, from 27 oC to 33 oC. As with all fish, higher temperatures will speed up the metabolism of the fish but also its life cycle. I keep the fish in 27 oC in winter and 29 oC in the summer months.
I have indicated that in my experience Hypancistrus zebra have never had any issues when sharing their tank with larger Loricariids. On this subject the interaction between Sassy, a young F0 female Hypancistrus zebra and Rudy, a young F0 L25 male, is quite interesting. The two fish got really “close” and after a while they were always seen together in the 1200 lit tank. During feeding times Rudy would go over to Sassy’s side of the tank and she would come out of her wood and go next to him to the open space in the center of the tank to eat. While she was eating Rudy would stand on top of her, resting on his fins, protecting her from other fish while she would freely move below him picking pieces of food. When she finished eating Rudy would escort her back to her space. On the odd occasions I had to dismantle the tank to clean it or slightly change the layout Sassy would always run to Rudy and hide under him.
When my dedicated zebra tank was ready I considered leaving Sassy with Rudy. For a variety of reasons I finally decided to move her in with the zebra colony. Since she joined the zebra tank Sassy hid in a piece of wood and I have never seen her out, even when I had to take the wood out of the tank to collect fry. To me there is a lesson to be learnt here: know about your fish but don’t make assumptions or generalisations. Each fish is an individual and needs to be treated as such. Generalisations about different genera and species are valuable in that they give us an indication of what has or has not worked, as the case may be, with a fish species in the past. In this sense such generalisations are not exclusive of other possibilities. I prefer to observe carefully the behaviour of my own fish in a given environment and provide them with what suits them best, as individuals.
The fish are more likely to engage in fights with conspecifics than with other fish. Thus, when kept in a species tank, it is necessary to provide plenty of rocks, wood and caves for them to hide in. Make sure territories are well separated by using rocks, stones or pieces of wood in addition to physical distance. The caves should face the flow of the water (so that the water passes from the entrance of the cave without getting inside). This ensures that caves are kept clean from debris as the vacuum effect created pulls out pieces of sand, snails, dirt etc. As with all plecos, zebras prefer tight fitting openings and crevices, though they will use larger openings if nothing else is available.
I have kept the fish in tanks with rounded pebbles (as a substrate); in my current setting I use aquarium sand (quartz). George has kept his youngsters in tanks with regular beach sand. The fish did well in all tanks though I would recommend a sandy substrate simply because it is easier to keep clean without too much interference. Food tends to fall between the pebbles and collect in places where the fish can’t reach it. As it decomposes it forms pockets from which hydrogen sulphate oozes in the tank. Hydrogen sulphate is poisonous to fish so thorough siphoning of the substrate becomes necessary. This, in turn, means that the tank has to be dismantled quite often to get to the areas under the wood and other tank furniture.
One thing I have noticed about the zebras is that, similarly to some other Hypancistrus species (most notably Queen Arabesques and L262), they tend not to get used to people and are generally very cautious even in the presence of their regular carer. I would recommend keeping as much as possible away from your zebra tank; this will put the fish at ease to go about their regular business. Whilst some of my other plecos do not mind, even enjoy, my presence around their tank (particularly when it comes to feeding times, when they line up at the front waiting), my zebras never do that. They will come out after I have left the vicinity of the tank and I can only watch them from a “safe” distance.
Tank Maintenance
In tanks with adult colonies I perform an 80100% weekly water change using a continuous flow system (fresh water is slowly entering the tank from one end as the old water is being drawn out of the tank from the other end). This way the water chemistry is changing slowly, over a large period of time. The water entering the tank is always the same temperature as the existing tank water. As Manchester water is very soft, I add either Esha Optima or Discus Minerals (alternatively) as well as bicarbonate of soda to keep a steady pH 7,6, KH 4 and GH 5-6.
The tank is serviced by two internal Blue Modular filters (1200 lit/h each); every week I alternate changing the entire contents of one of them. The substrate is never cleaned as I have noticed that fry enjoy eating the food left overs under the rocks. Similarly I do not clean the inside of the glass when there are fry in the tank; I have often noticed them feeding off the algae and the microorganisms that collect there.
I try to avoid large water changes in fry tanks; these usually contain smaller volumes of water so it is more difficult to keep the water parameters stable. There have been reports that fry are sensitive to large water changes. This may well be true, though I haven’t noticed it with the fry growing in their parent’s tanks. It is possible that the abrupt changes in the water parameters are fatal to fry and this is more likely to happen in smaller, rather than bigger, set ups, where fry are usually kept.
Feeding
Hypancistrus sp. fish are carnivores and zebras are no exception. I offer mine a combination of Blue Line Grade 122 Basic, Ocean Nutrition 1 (medium) and Dr Basleer Tropic (Large) as their staple diet. I feed the tank daily when there are fry in and I miss one day a week when there are no fry present. Similarly, if there are fry in the tank, I do not offer any frozen bloodworm or other frozen food; I do offer frozen food once a week if there are no fry in the tank (Daphnia, Cyclops, Bloodworm, chopped mussel and cockle seem to be hot favourites). Finally, I add Blue Line Bottom Spiru or courgette once a week.
Fry do well on staple food; I strictly avoid offering frozen food for at least the first 12 weeks. If the batch has been taken from the parents and brought up separately I feed them a combination of Blue Line Artemia, Basic Grade 58 and Spiru dust for the first 4 weeks. The mixture is soaked in vitamins prior to being fed for the first couple of weeks. After the first 12 weeks I offer fry the same mixture my adult colonies eat, but ground. I increase the size of the grains every three to four weeks until the fish can eat the normal size grains commercially available.
In terms of the competitiveness of the zebras to feed the photos above are revealing. Notice how all the zebras are out in the big tank, competing for food. The youngster in the middle photo is definitely very well fed, which indicates that the presence of other bottom dwellers has not deterred it from eating. Yet, when moved in a dedicated tank, the fish stopped coming out for food during lights on. The most they can be seen is like Hermes in the third photo.
In my experience Hypancistrus zebra adapt well in competitive environments on the whole. They are more “aware” of conspecifics around them than of other bottom dwellers. It goes without saying that if kept with other, larger Loricariids, it is important to ensure that appropriate quantity and quality of food is available. This can be achieved by offering different size pellets or grains of food and making sure that some of these are dropped in the area which the zebras frequent. In the last photo above Cleopatra has climbed all the way up a rock and slate formation to get to the brine shrimp, ignoring all the other bigger plecos in the tank. The bigger plecos would never compete for this piece of food as they wouldn’t be able to reach it.
Things to look for
A hiding zebra is a happy zebra. This is most certainly true, except possibly in feeding times. These fish prefer to keep themselves to themselves and you should take a second look in the tank if you see, all of a sudden, your zebras out in the open. Check for spots under their bellies, red marks, marks of piercing (when they fight the tend to pierce each other with their interopercular odontes) or faded black lines. Note that the fish, when annoyed or in discomfort, turn their white lines into pink / red ones.
You should also be alerted if you notice any unusual behaviour. As with all other fish, careful examination is required to ensure your fish are healthy and well. The fish don’t need to get “ill” to suffer, or even die. Bullying, fights etc can have detrimental effects on their wellbeing. Zebras are susceptible to tropical fish diseases so in addition to the above you should look for all the usual signs of disease.
The first photo from the left above shows a youngster who was stressed and had to be isolated to recover. The subsequent two photos (middle) show a young male who was hurt during a fight over a cave; he developed blisters on his side and had to be treated locally to recover. We removed him from the cave and applied TAP Aquagel on him (I find it extremely effective against wounds and ulcers), then put him back in his cave (he was the winner) and placed the cave in the tank. The final photo (right) was a life saver. I noticed the fish were not eating properly but could not detect any signs of disease. I spent a lot of time watching them next day; it appeared that their black stripes looked a bit paler. So I took some photos to have a closer look at higher magnification on the computer. The photographs were revealing; the “gold dust” on the fish indicated a velvet infection. The fish were immediately treated with Esha Exit and recovered fully within a week.
Healthy fish have clear black lines on a white background and a blue tinge appears most prominently on their dorsal fin.
See also Part 2: Hypancistrus zebra – L046 – Breeding
See also Part 3: Hypancistrus zebra – L046 – Raising the Fry
