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So, it seems we've got good news about Hypancistrus Zebra international trading possibilities. According to the daily report from the 18th of November of the XIX Meeting of the CITES Conference (CITES cop19), the Committee rejected the original proposal about moving Hypancistrus Zebra from CITES Appendix III to Appendix I. It means that Legal international trade of Hypancistrus Zebra will continue. And such breeders who can arrange CITES papers for their L046 will continue trading this beautiful fish. As for collecting L046 from the wild, it's still a 100% ban.I personally think it's a wise decision, which will actually help this species survive in the wild. Allowing legal trade for those who can prove that their L046s were born in...

Using various ceramic filter media is a highly effective way to keep biological balance and manage the nitrogen cycle in aquariums. Due to their porous structure, ceramic or quartz filter media are an excellent substrate to accommodate nitrifying bacteria, which play an essential role in the aquarium nitrogen cycle. These nitrifying bacteria convert the ammonia generated by the decay of leftover food, fish feces, and other organic material into nitrite and then into nitrate. Not only are nitrates far less toxic for fish, but they are also consumed by aquatic plants and seaweed and are easily removed when changing water. However, it is hard to assess the performance of certain filter media, especially when producers use various tricks to make...

First of all, we should say that they are not so easy to keep as common bristlenoses. Personally, I had problems with keeping Snow White Bristlenoses. We lost a lot of them before learning how keep them properly. I guess the best thing is to list all the main points according to their priority. So, let’s start: Temperature. To my mind, the optimal temperature is 75F ( 24C) - 78F (26C). For us, it was rather difficult because we keep most plecos at 86F (30C) and it is quite hot in our facility. For this purpose, we had to place all the bristlenose plecos on the bottom shelf and remove cover glasses from the tanks. That way, we managed to keep the...

There are some reasons to consider this principle essential for sustainable pleco breeding. Those of you who have already read our article The basics of promoting fish maturation and spawning realized that there is no single trick, which will enable you to breed, for instance, L046 when you want it easily. There are various abiotic and biotic factors affecting fish maturation, its readiness to spawn, and stimuli for spawning. Proper food resources are among major factors that help to create favourable conditions for spawning. That way it is absolutely clear that if you attempt to make your fish diet natural, it will promote spawning. Let’s find out what plecos eat in their natural habitat. As you know, we specialize in breeding...