Andrew
Members
OK, my first BAP report...
This is not an innovative or remarkable spawn as these fish are EASY to breed. In fact, I've seen the club auction price drop to almost nothing because everyone has them. If you haven't bred these yet or are interested in how it works, here's a brief thumbnail on my experience so far.
I bought a group of baby Albino Bristlenose plecos about a year ago at a club event. Half are shortfin; half are longfin. They are kept in a 20l tank with some Amano shrimp and some guppy growouts. They have also shared the tank with loaches, swordtails and American flagfish over the months. There are various sized clay caves from South Central Cichlids scattered throughout the tank. There are a few plants but the surface stays completely covered in duckweed. Filtration is a single sponge filter and an air stone. The tank is fed YourFishStuff algae wafers four times per week and shrimp pellets twice per week. Water changes as the tank starts getting funky. Plecos are dirty fish! They eat a lot and poop a lot. I think the duckweed does a lot towards nutrient reduction in the tank.
Breeding: The males hang out in the caves with their tails sticking out. The tails are essentially "flags" to entice the females to come closer. An interested females will eventually come by and indicate she wants to check out the inside of the cave. The male does everything he can to get her inside.
Once he has her inside the cave, he locks his spiny pectoral fins against the cave walls so she can't get out.
It took these guys about 18 hours in the cave, with some fits and starts before she left the cave with the eggs. The eggs are yellow-orange and are stuck to the top rear of the cave. They're also very large, about 4mm. Sometimes males will "kick" the eggs out of the cave if he's inexperienced or stressed. This guy did just fine his first go around. He stayed with the eggs in the cave fanning them with his pelvic fins to keep them clean and oxygenated.
The eggs hatched after three or four days. Six days after the spawn I removed the cave and dumped the contents into a breeder box. I'd like to say it was more elegant than that, but it wasn't. The male was carefully removed and returned to the tank, along with his cave sans babies.
The fry were still in their wriggler phase when I moved them to the breeder box. They were mobile but still had their yolk sacs attached.
It took another eight or nine days before their eggs sacs were completely absorbed. They are now chewing on algae wafers and veggie pellets.
I can tell they're eating because their stomachs turn brown.
So that's where I am today. I'll do my 60 days from the spawn date (July 3), then post another pic of the youngsters.
(insert obligatory apology for crappy cell phone pics)
This is not an innovative or remarkable spawn as these fish are EASY to breed. In fact, I've seen the club auction price drop to almost nothing because everyone has them. If you haven't bred these yet or are interested in how it works, here's a brief thumbnail on my experience so far.
I bought a group of baby Albino Bristlenose plecos about a year ago at a club event. Half are shortfin; half are longfin. They are kept in a 20l tank with some Amano shrimp and some guppy growouts. They have also shared the tank with loaches, swordtails and American flagfish over the months. There are various sized clay caves from South Central Cichlids scattered throughout the tank. There are a few plants but the surface stays completely covered in duckweed. Filtration is a single sponge filter and an air stone. The tank is fed YourFishStuff algae wafers four times per week and shrimp pellets twice per week. Water changes as the tank starts getting funky. Plecos are dirty fish! They eat a lot and poop a lot. I think the duckweed does a lot towards nutrient reduction in the tank.
Breeding: The males hang out in the caves with their tails sticking out. The tails are essentially "flags" to entice the females to come closer. An interested females will eventually come by and indicate she wants to check out the inside of the cave. The male does everything he can to get her inside.
Once he has her inside the cave, he locks his spiny pectoral fins against the cave walls so she can't get out.
It took these guys about 18 hours in the cave, with some fits and starts before she left the cave with the eggs. The eggs are yellow-orange and are stuck to the top rear of the cave. They're also very large, about 4mm. Sometimes males will "kick" the eggs out of the cave if he's inexperienced or stressed. This guy did just fine his first go around. He stayed with the eggs in the cave fanning them with his pelvic fins to keep them clean and oxygenated.
The eggs hatched after three or four days. Six days after the spawn I removed the cave and dumped the contents into a breeder box. I'd like to say it was more elegant than that, but it wasn't. The male was carefully removed and returned to the tank, along with his cave sans babies.
The fry were still in their wriggler phase when I moved them to the breeder box. They were mobile but still had their yolk sacs attached.
It took another eight or nine days before their eggs sacs were completely absorbed. They are now chewing on algae wafers and veggie pellets.
I can tell they're eating because their stomachs turn brown.
So that's where I am today. I'll do my 60 days from the spawn date (July 3), then post another pic of the youngsters.
(insert obligatory apology for crappy cell phone pics)
