Zebra L046 Project: June 2014

Update

There have been minimal changes since the last update, however, both Xingu and Rio have grown considerably and matured. No longer do they share the same shelf in the tank, each have separated and gone their own way. It does make for a pretty boring tank most of the time but good to see them maturing.

Unfortunately I have not been able to afford any more zebra's to add to the colony at this stage, however, I am looking forward to being able to achieve this in the future. At least I now know that they are not quite as fragile as I once thought. Despite the tank having its fair share of ups and downs, both zebs have soldiered on without event. I have had never ending trouble with the snails blocking the filters and, at times, causing extremely dirty water, yet the zebs just carry on as usual and seem unaffected.

As they mature and I purchase more zebras I will invest in a stronger filter as I have not been impressed with the flow rate of this one, particularly how easily it is blocked. Luckily I have both a sponge filter and ultra violet light with filter as back ups, if it weren't for these I fear there may have been disaster.

I decided to get three electric blue ram cichlids to add some colour and vibrancy to the tank. The electric blue rams are famous for having a very short life so I doubt they will pose a problem if the zebra do breed in the future, in the meantime I have enjoyed watching their antics. The temperature and conditions of the tank are perfect for the rams, they are very brave and cheeky eating dried black worm right from my hand. The dither fish and other tank mates have proven to be good 'canary like fish' to indicate water quality, with the unfortunate passing of a ram early on. Also, recently one of the electric blue rams began to suffer from fin rot which alerted me to a block in the filter, again. Luckily the ram is recovering well and the tank was once again saved from near disaster - just in time!

In the last few days Xingu - the king of the ledge - has decided to seek out a cave for himself. It has been strange to see him missing from his usual ledge, but nice to see him showing positive signs of maturing and showing a nesting instinct. He has always been much more boisterous than Rio and is quite happy to feed in front of me, except if I get too close! Rio on the other hand has disappeared in the middle of the tank, I am barely able to spy his/her stripes resting 'on top' of a cave partially hidden from view. As beautiful as these fish are it is frustrating not to be able to closely examine them. I am really looking forward to future antics when I add some new tank mates in the future. Until then I will have to enjoy the few daily glimpses of my two, particularly at feeding time!