Zebra Plecos?

[Slipperhead]

A friend just bought 6 young zebra plecos. He has offered me one and I thought it might make a good discus tankmate as they don't get very large.

However, I have done a bit of research and it appears they are NOT algae eaters but prefer protein. They also seem to be generally shy.

Good tankmate or not?

Garland in VA

[2wheelsx2]

They're perfect. If they are true Hypancistrus Zebra (L46). Totally correct. They don't eat algae but are carnivorous. Which is perfect for cleaning up after your discus. Just don't expect them to clean the glass. And they live in the higher temperatures and oxygen levels that discus thrive on. The only difference is that they prefer a pretty good water flow in their tanks, but that's mainly because of the oxygen.

[Pardal]

I agree you can keep them with discus, but to many people this is like having a ferrari and a corvette, or being fan of the new york yankees and the Boston
Red Sox at the same time. you get the idea.
But if you keeping with discus they will do fine they just a little shy and won't show to their full potential
people that are fan to plecos have them as the king of the plecos therefore the other name, imperial pleco.
You can check more info at Zebrapleco.com and planetcatfish.
at the end you just going to have a fancy cleaner guy or crew if you get more.
and remember is all a matter of opinions.
Good luck
Julian

[2wheelsx2]

I agree with Julian. If you want a pleco to do some cleanup, there are plenty of other pretty Hypancistrus to choose from that won't break the bank: L260, L340, L333, etc. etc. They'll all do the job, have a striped pattern and are carnivores and easy on the pocket book (well, the L260 aren't as cheap as the others).

[Slipperhead]

Thanks folks for the quick reply! I'm a newbie here and have found everyone very helpful.

Ok, I have sent the email to reserve one of the brighter zebras. (My friend REALLY owes me!)

What algae eater would you recommend? I would pefer something that doesn't get too big or scary.

Thanks!

Garland in VA

[Slipperhead]

Oops, I see you have responded again while I was typing! Thanks for the recommendation. I will look up these fish and check for sources.

Thanks again!
Garland

[2wheelsx2]

If you don't mind the bristly appearance of the males, nothing beats the common bristlenose - only grows to 5" max.

[DiscusOnly]

How big are your discus and how big is the L046? If they are still small, I would not put them in with the discus.

[Slipperhead]

The Zebras are abour 2" long at this point. He just got them this past week.

I don't have discus yet.

[DiscusOnly]

My personal opinion on this is to keep all the zebra together instead of you taking one. You do realize that you are not going to see the zebra much once it's in your tank.

[fish nut]

I would not put them together. I have a tank with a group of L-46 by themself with some tetras and the discus are by themself in another tank.
L-46 will not do the job of cleaning the leftovers. plus they constantly hide and comes out when the lights are out.