I have been looking for weeks at getting a zebra plec breeding tank set up as I like not only keeping animals but i get a lot of pleasure breeding them too but I am torn between setting this up and setting up a marine tank???
marine would be good as I can have snails, shrimps, fish, corals, starfish and all the "eco system" going on or zebs breeding? What do I do!!!

I am not asking for you to decide for me as I hate the post that start with "what shall I buy next" but just wanted some good and bad reasons to help me decide/make it harder for me

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"CB08" Royals, bred by me, PM me if interested.
0.1 Pastel £350 o.n.o
0.1 Normal (need to get feeding better first, enquire if interested) £75 o.n.o
1.0 Normal £50 o.n.o

WEB: www.alpharoyals.co.uk
EMAIL: chris@alpharoyals.co.uk
MSN: alpha_royals@hotmail.co.uk (where I talk Royals, not Balls! if you want to join me?)

have you kept saltwater before?.... i vote salt but there is no wrong choice really. i keep both. i have to have a saltwater tank..... yeah, i'm hooked.

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well I have had freshwater tropical fish for about 15 years and never got the balls to go up the salt water route and now I fancy a challange and think (hope) I have the knowledge to do it.

I just dont want to spend £150 plus on zebs and for them to croak it!

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"CB08" Royals, bred by me, PM me if interested.
0.1 Pastel £350 o.n.o
0.1 Normal (need to get feeding better first, enquire if interested) £75 o.n.o
1.0 Normal £50 o.n.o

WEB: www.alpharoyals.co.uk
EMAIL: chris@alpharoyals.co.uk
MSN: alpha_royals@hotmail.co.uk (where I talk Royals, not Balls! if you want to join me?)

salt is way easier than most folks think. if you enjoy learning, then salt is the way to go. no matter how experienced anyone is with fresh, salt will make them even better. a whole other world. the one thing that i do hate about salt is how incompatable so many of the fish are with each other. you have to carefully plan what fish that you ultimately want to have in a given tank. so many more choices with fresh. i hear that marine fish are a lot more expensive over there too. stick to the hardy ones. my favorite common fish is a flame angel... i wish that it was possible to keep several together......

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I thought about getting some zebs for quite a while and decided against it for now cause I would worry about loosing them also..

I think they are a sound investment (if you can commit to giving them a tank of there own) and at the current prices a successful breeding could fund the project long term (if you could part with the babies that is...lol).

I personally like tropical but I may go marine one day..

If you fancy a very hard breeding challenge there is always Synodontis granulosus.. They are a very hardy fish, I was well chuffed when I managed to get one and am on the look out for another.

I believe to date there is only one chap in manchester who has managed it without hormone injetion and he ain't for telling anyone how. He sells his offspring at £150.

Hi i'd go for the marine, i've kept them for nearly 25yrs, they can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. if you take your time & plan everything ahead you should be ok, there going to be around for a long time so why rush into it? easeist way is berlin/eco system hybrid filtration, there's no amount of money you can spend on filtration, i'm quite happy to give you any advice on setting up on a shoestring budget, my own system i'm running at the moment has cost me around £500 including fish & corals! that's a 3x2x2 tank with 3x18x18 sump. i have fish, snails, starfish breed on near monthly basis

marines great fun and does look awesome if you do it right. I've got a 180litre tank and have spent nearly 3grand on it, but I could have spent much less. It all depends on what you want and how much time (and money) you want to put into it. a lot of research is needed, you need to know your theory very well or have a patient fish shop manager who can spoon feed you answers (the first option is preferable). But as long as you don't try to cut corners and do it properly first time round then it's easy. Just more involved

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1.1 leos, 1.1 fat tails, 0.2 Beardies, 1 Whites, 2.0 Cresties, 4.1 Cats, Fish: 4.4 P. Dovii, 5.5.6 Peacock Bass (5 sp), 1.1 C 'Cobra', 1.1 festae, 1.1 green terror, 1.1 nics, 1.1 C. Marmorata, 1.1 C. Johani, 1.1 C. 'Strigata', 1.1 C. 'red tapojas'; 1.1 P. Friedrichsthalli, 1.1 Mots, 1.1 managuense, 1.1 H. Bocourti, 1.1 H. Pearsi, 1.1 H. Carpinte, 1.1 H. Cynoguttatum, 1.1 V. Argentea, 1.1 V. Zonatus, 1.1 N. Salvini, 2.2 Grammodes, 3.4 Hoplarchus Pssiticus, 2.2 Trimacs, 3.4 haitiensis, 1.1 tetracanthus, 3.2 Red tiger mots, 14 Uaru (2 sp) 1.1 Umbies, 2 Arapaima, 3 Red tail catfish, 1.1 P. Leopoldii, 1.1 P. Motoro, 3 Silver Arowana, Var. polypterus, var. Channa sp, M. wyckii, 3 siamese tigers, 2 jelly catfish, 1 Golden dorado
Member number 1717

I have got the time and the money to invest, I love a challenge and also have a good LFS locally which are always willing to listen and help me. I think it is going to be marine as there is so much more going on than a tank of plecs.

__________________
"CB08" Royals, bred by me, PM me if interested.
0.1 Pastel £350 o.n.o
0.1 Normal (need to get feeding better first, enquire if interested) £75 o.n.o
1.0 Normal £50 o.n.o

WEB: www.alpharoyals.co.uk
EMAIL: chris@alpharoyals.co.uk
MSN: alpha_royals@hotmail.co.uk (where I talk Royals, not Balls! if you want to join me?)

what sorta size are you looking at? and what fish/setup. Fish only? or full on reef?

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1.1 leos, 1.1 fat tails, 0.2 Beardies, 1 Whites, 2.0 Cresties, 4.1 Cats, Fish: 4.4 P. Dovii, 5.5.6 Peacock Bass (5 sp), 1.1 C 'Cobra', 1.1 festae, 1.1 green terror, 1.1 nics, 1.1 C. Marmorata, 1.1 C. Johani, 1.1 C. 'Strigata', 1.1 C. 'red tapojas'; 1.1 P. Friedrichsthalli, 1.1 Mots, 1.1 managuense, 1.1 H. Bocourti, 1.1 H. Pearsi, 1.1 H. Carpinte, 1.1 H. Cynoguttatum, 1.1 V. Argentea, 1.1 V. Zonatus, 1.1 N. Salvini, 2.2 Grammodes, 3.4 Hoplarchus Pssiticus, 2.2 Trimacs, 3.4 haitiensis, 1.1 tetracanthus, 3.2 Red tiger mots, 14 Uaru (2 sp) 1.1 Umbies, 2 Arapaima, 3 Red tail catfish, 1.1 P. Leopoldii, 1.1 P. Motoro, 3 Silver Arowana, Var. polypterus, var. Channa sp, M. wyckii, 3 siamese tigers, 2 jelly catfish, 1 Golden dorado
Member number 1717

I was hoping to get a 2 foot minimum tank, with the works, soft corals hard corals, snails, crabs, starfish and fish

Im not worried about having a massive amount of fish as i prefer the whole eco system.

__________________
"CB08" Royals, bred by me, PM me if interested.
0.1 Pastel £350 o.n.o
0.1 Normal (need to get feeding better first, enquire if interested) £75 o.n.o
1.0 Normal £50 o.n.o

WEB: www.alpharoyals.co.uk
EMAIL: chris@alpharoyals.co.uk
MSN: alpha_royals@hotmail.co.uk (where I talk Royals, not Balls! if you want to join me?)