Hypancistrus zebra -July 2009

[celticfish]

They are back again at C328!!!
12 very good sized fish at 2.7" +/-
HURRY!!!

[johannes]

wah bro you so fast ah?

[Wackytpt]

You super fast man Irwin....

And CK Yeo still tell me nothing interesting yesterday when he went. =p

[johannes]

this afternoon just landed la

[illumnae]

Just saw them, very large and very good price for the size!

[genes]

Nobody bought? All males wor from what i saw.

[yat6661]

price/ $300+?

[khtee]

price/ $300+?

same as last batch price. Saw 2 pcs and really nice.

[riltz]

are they wild?

[khtee]

price/ $300+?

same as last batch price. Saw 2 pcs and really nice.

[CHOO]

Nobody bought? All males wor from what i saw.

Bigger size can identify sex, so might be hijack before landed to aquarium. in fact ,I am wondering is there anyway to know whether the pleco is wild caught or captive breed.

[riltz]

just came back from the shop, left a few not so nice ones, most probaly all males cause all occupying caves. didnt really bother to check cause they dont look that nice. who swooped everything?

[adolfoi]

From what I see from the remaining, all of them is male. L46 female is relatively weak and many cannot make it for long distance travel. Only the stronger female will make it through. See who are those lucky to snap up the female at first hand

[khtee]

most probably this batch are all males. Is female L46 rare? I have not heard of any WTB requesting for female only.

[celticfish]

Agree the lot looks mostly male.
From most reports I read the ratio for wild fish is about 5:1 give or take a fish.
The reason given was that male fish are "stationary" since the stake out cave making them easier targets.
Hence, why I always say that numbers do count to ensure a female in the group.
You can always get the ratio "right" after they have started breeding.
When I first started I didnt stop buying till I had 13 pieces.
I did make a concious decision to commit to breeding them.
When disaster struck and I lost 10 pieces to a water fiasco I promptly got back in the market to acquire more, albiet at almost double the price for the first lot.

At a ratio of 5:1 = $400 x 6 = $2,400.
And this is provided you can sex female fish!
IMHO I do think these fish are wild caught.
Reason being the distinctive black lines bewteen the specimens and the scrawny look (not very well fed fish).
Torn fins are a "thing of the past" as fish are now smuggled across borders before being sent out of South America.
They do get fed and have enough time for fins to heal during the journey.
The scrawny condition also makes it very hard to sex female fish correctly.
So if you want buy a group with a "good" sex ratio expect to pay a premium for the sellers "risk" at sexing and DOA, and the "hard work" to fatten up the fish!

Last I saw the group, this past Wednesday, there were 2 good looking "alpha males".
Man! Was I tempted to add on to one of my younger groups...
But I had to hold back as I was going away.
If its there when I return I'll probably bag that one!

[khtee]

It could be gone by now

[genes]

12 more pieces came in this afternoon. Chiong ah!

[khtee]

12 more pieces came in this afternoon. Chiong ah!

Mix of male and females?

[adolfoi]

Wow man, bro here are damm fast. I saw it yesterday. Left 4pcs all male.....

[celticfish]

Well the "alpha male" I eyed before is GONE...
However, there were about 3 pieces of very decent "alpha males" in the new lot!
Obviously I didn't waste time this time and promptly bagged one.

The males from this lot will match nicely with females from the previous lot (as in the lot that came late last year to early this year).
Males generally take a longer time to reach maturity.
These guys are significantly larger in size than the last lot.
I'm quite certain these males will match the previous lot's females for breeding.
Read as, the males from this lot are matured (need some conditioning though) and will match females from the last lot for breeding (should be maturing some time soon, 3 to 6 months? depending on their size).