Breeding L-046

[Cecibella123]

Has anyone ever attempted to breed zebra plecos (L-046)? I have an empty 20g long sitting around, and would like to try, but don't want to spend close to a grand on breeders if nothing productive comes from it. Do they breed as easily as other plecos? Any past experiences that you'd be willing to share, or any advice would be very helpful. I'm going in totally blind.

 

[Delapool]

Unfortunately no idea on the question but wondering if you did go ahead or not. A grand - holey smokes!

 

[Cecibella123]

I haven't yet. Not sure if I will. None of the LFS in the area carry them. A couple LFS can special order them, but apparently they're somewhat fragile, with not much of a live shipment guarantee. Special order price is about $270.00 each, US funds. I would want 1 male and 3 females as a start; so, yeah, over a thousand bucks.

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

They have definitely been bred in captivity, but I assume they're tricky to breed since they are so expensive!

 

[Cecibella123]

That would be my guess too, TA. But, obviously it's been done by someone. I'm not going to risk it though. At least, not until I can get some advice from someone who has done it successfully.

 

[Brookster123]

They're tricky. I know a guy who attempted to breed l-134 (same general region I believe).had a heck of a time. Never panned out. Best advice is setup a 40b, light Sandy bottom, bury sections of 3" pvc pipe under tangles of dark dw. Subdued lighting, match parameters as best as possible.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Delapool]

My goodness. Looking on the Australian forums they sell for say $500 for young ones and a breeding pair or trio well and truly into the thousands of dollars.

No handy tips on breeding unfortunately.

One poor guy had something go wrong with an adjacent tank, spread to his breeding tank and lost 7 grand.

 

[Cecibella123]

Therein lies the reason I haven't attempted it, Delapool. Way too much $$$ involved for a startup, with so high potential for failure. They're beautiful fish. I've seen a couple in other aquariums, and pics don't do them justice at all. But the cost is prohibitive.