Fern's L46 How to get them to spawn

I also want to spawn the L46 Pleco but since I took on the L114 project they get priority. I'd love to help out with getting your L46 to reproduce but just need a little info like water conditions and maybe a clear pic or two of the tank set up. There is a lot you can do to get them in the mood and most of it is pretty simple for someone with your level of experience. The only things we have to hope are you have males & females and also that they aren't past spawning age.

One tip is you should reproduce the annual water conditions that you would find in a river. Slow the water flow and icrease the hardness to simulate the dry season for about 4 months, then speed up the current and lower the hardness like the rainy season and that should work.

Also you need plenty of spawning areas that are at an angle to the water flow. I like to use a piece of easter grass glued to a pebble to see which way the water moves in the tank. Each time you move some furniture you have to see how it effected water movement in the tank and that is the easiest way.

I could go on forever so just let me know if you are interested and what else I should ramble on about.

Ramble on all ya can Joe.. Ya sound like a well head of useful info! Bill in Va.

Well I know she has tried the 4 month dry season and is in the rain season now. 1/2 RO water at the moment so lower PH. She has a proven male and a female that appears to be full of eggs hopefully something soon.

HOLY CRAP!!! I just found out if you accidently hit the backspace you lose your entire post. I'll re-type it later.

And of course ya only learn that when you've completed a book length post!. .Bill in V.a

First let me say all the information here is stuff I have read. I have not spawned this species myself so take it as you may.
The zebra pleco can tolerate a wide range of water conditions and has been spawned in countless combinations of Ph, Dh, and temp. What I suggest is to use the rainy & dry season cycle to mimic the natural habitat.

How to set up for a Zebra colony:To do this you will need a lot of smoothed and rounded rock because this species inhabits a rocky portion of fast moving river water. They should be placed in a way that provides plenty of tight places for the fish to hide as well as an unbroken way to move from one end of the tank to the other. Zebras are small fish and can fit into pretty small spaces so be sure some of your caves are quite tight. You can also incorporate a few man made spawning caves into your design just to add a little variety.

The second thing you should provide is a sandy substrate that flows right up to the rock formation you created. This will simulate the soft sandy banks of the river and allow for some open space where the fish can stretch out (don‘t expect to see this happen). My suggestion would be to line your rock along the back wall of the tank with sand in front.

The third and very important piece of the puzzle is proper water flow. You should have a medium to fast water flow that runs from one side of the tank to the other. In addition the water flow should be kept off the back wall of the tank so the fish will feel almost no current while in the rocks. Additionally the caves should be placed with openings facing 90 degrees and also 120 degrees to the water movement so that there is no water being forced into the cave that could scatter an egg cluster.

What to do with your water:You should get your water close to neutral as that is what occurs in the rivers where this fish is found. After that you should be fine as long as the parameters remain stable. If your fish aren’t spawning you can try the rainy/dry simulation but you shouldn’t have to go that far. Since your fish have been with you a couple years this may be the thing to do.

Lighting:This is the one area where most people go wrong. There should be no man made lighting, your ambient room light is more than enough. Also be sure the tank doesn’t get hit with sunlight from a window. These fish live in the rocky bottom where there is way less light penetration. They also love to hide in an almost pitch black cave.

If you meet the requirements above you shouldn’t have any problems and a spawn should occur. If it doesn’t happen your fish could be either too young or too old. The other possibility is they are all the same sex.

I hope this info is useful and if there is anyone who wants to add to or dispute what I have said please feel free. As I stated before this is just stuff I have read and I have no first hand experience with spawning this fish.

I have been doing all that, I am going to swap out filters here soon for rainy season. They are in a 30g tank, 1 wc male and 1 wc female and 3 F1's of unknown sex (thinking male, female and no clue on the 3rd) I have 3 slate caves made just for them, the male has taken residence in one cave and has been in there for a good year, feed at lights out a high protein diet and the are in the darkest corner of the fish room.