And it doesn't count the cost of the penalty I had to pay to take a premature withdrawal from my IRA to pay for them. It also doesn't count the risk that for any reason one can lose a fish. It also doesn't count the fact that the Belo Monte dam may likely wipe them out in wild. It doesn't count the cost of the tank and contents, the food and electricity, etc. That did not include the hours spent driving an hour+ each way to see them and then to pick them up. Pure white and pure black in world of colors.īack then I was lucky to be able to buy them and had to spend $270/fish and 5 fry were free. I think they are a striking looking fish. I have owned zebras since about 2003 but breeding was not until 06. As to how much I made that is a relative question. Ultimately, I sold lowered the price by offering the first 1/4 inch for free. When I was outputting them at their maxi rate I was selling them at $100/inch. As for breeding - i do breed some of my fishes but not to sell - more to sustain my population and (at least in the case of angels) play around a bit with combinations to see what they produce. Having one finicky pleco isn't a big deal but I'm not sure I'd want to spend $$$$ on something that never shows up. I usually have to drop pellets next to the entrance and if hungry he'll dash out grab one and take it back in. While not a rare species my most shy pleco is an 元33 which stays in his coconut shell 99% of the time (at least during the day). While many pleco are shy at least over times the species i have do come out if you don't overly startled them. I personally don't see the value in these fish in the sense that htey are extremely shy (again from reading) and other than making $$$ breeding them they are not going to fit very well in a community tank. You've ( T TwoTankAmin ) been doing this for years but when you first started did it not take a bit of trial and error to encourage them to breed ? Also the LFS indicated that yield is also quite low per breeding. From my reading it takes a bit of an effort to get the condition right but once favorable then of course they will breeding regularly. I want to ask about the breeding of these - as I know my local lfs purchased 12 a few years ago and have had some difficulty with breeding them. Of coruse there are some species which are truly difficult, but we are talking special parameters and diet and also an unusual set-up. What makes a successful breeder mostly invovles not doing things that would oevent or discourage spawning.

They are not especially difficult to breed if you provide the proper conditions and diet.

But that is because I would hate to have a pair and lose the FM, it would be difficult and expensive to replace one. However, A females can produce eggs at about 2 week intervals. The ideal ratio is 2m/1fm because the males needs 4 weeks+ to get from eggs to free swimming when the will be booted from the cave. Unless you know the seller, or somebody who can vouch for them, I cannot imagine selling a pair in their prime for less than $550 - $600. They are most prolific at about age 3+ - 8 to 10 years old and then they can slow down. However, if your goal is to breed them then age matters. I have some I got as proven breeder in 06 that are still alive and may still spawn now and then. unsexed.Īs for age, I am aware of an accomplished breeder which had his oldest male zebra spawn stage 22. That price is too cheap for an adult pair of zebras inn their prime.

I have been breeding and selling zebras since 2006.

L046 pleco for sale