OMG! Baby ABNs!!!

[hollyfish2000]

I thought my albino long-finned male was fanning something in his little pleco cave, but even with a flashlight I wasn't able to see anything. Then, this morning, baby plecos on the glass!!!!!! They look long-finned. There is a very mature long-finned female in the tank who is twice as long as the male. I'm not sure if she's the mom or one of the regular finned plecos in the tank that are less than half the size of the male.

In any event -- I'm very excited. Only saw about three, so not sure if they are being eaten or just scattered around. Tank is heavily planted. Will it be OK to leave them in the tank? Will the rainbow cichlids or apisto try to eat them? What do I feed them, if anything? (I did put some cucumber slices in there this morning for them . . . ) :wub:

 

[golsama]

Congrats on the BN fry! That's very exciting!

 

[verbal]

Congrats. BTW the female you sold me has been quite productive.

 

[hollyfish2000]

the big female in this tank is similar to the one you have and came in the same "batch" that I ordered online. Are her babies long-finned or mixed and all albino? I don't know how the genes work for BN . . .

 

[verbal]

the big female in this tank is similar to the one you have and came in the same "batch" that I ordered online. Are her babies long-finned or mixed and all albino? I don't know how the genes work for BN . . .

Long finned seems to be dominant, but it may not be one gene. I am very skeptical of claims of short-finned fish with "long-finned" genes. I have yet to see any stories of short finned parents producing long-finned fry.

I think my long-finned pair may be carries of the short-finned gene(s) since a significant portion are short-finned.

Albino coloration is recessive, so the color of the offspring should albino if both parents are albinos. With the other coloration it definitely is a mix of genes. I tried a super red and albino cross and the fry are an interesting pattern, but mostly brown and yellow.

 

[hollyfish2000]

what, if anything, do you feed the babies?

 

[verbal]

Usually the same as parents. I tend to feed Repashy more if there are babies. I also have heard to go a little softer with the zucchini for babies.

 

[hollyfish2000]

I feed algae wafers. I guess those will soften up enough for the babies, if they're not snatched by the other adults . . .

 

[MonteSS]

Congratz!

Babies will have plenty to feed on in an established tank.

...Bill

 

[hollyfish2000]

I counted about 20 this morning. Would would be a typical spawn (think first time dad who is still not very big)? Do they go back into the pleco cave at night with dad or is he quite done with them?

I'm still worried that my apisto pair thinks they're a snack . . .

 

[verbal]

The brood sizes can vary quite a bit. I think it is the female(s) who determines the size more than the male.

 

[Avatar]

Naturally

I think it is the female(s) who determines the size more than the male.

That's a very very safe bet. In other lower vertebrates, percentage of body fat is closely linked to egg production, and in mammals, some if not most species simply will not ovulate if that percentage falls below a certain threshold.

Well-fed females produce more eggs and are likely able to spawn more frequently as well.

 

[hollyfish2000]

I"m just not sure who the mama is. If it's the big female, then she's BIG! If not, then it's a little girl only a couple inches long. Anyway, I'm fascinated by the little critters and hoping they grow up safely in the tank.

 

[Tony]

Very cool, Holly! Congrats.

Your apistos shouldn't be able to eat the babies. Like Bill said, there should be plenty to feed on in the tank in way of random detritus. I feed mine Extreme Cat Scrapers or smaller grade NLS.

 

[Andrewtfw]

Congrats on the abn spawn, Holly!

Sent from my DROIDX

 

[hollyfish2000]

The babies all eventually disappeared. I am very disappointed. I don't know if someone ate them or there wasn't enough food or what . . . .

Now the male is back in his cave fanning again. I'd like to get a better outcome if babies come out soon.

Can I put the babies in a 20 high with some rainbow babies and two small mustard spot plecos? I think the rainbows would be too little to eat them. Will the mustard spots bother them? I'm not thinking about moving the dad and his cave before hatching, but moving the babies after they are hatched? ideas?

 

[verbal]

What has increased at least initial survival for me is transferring fry into breeder net.

There is a window when they have absorbed the egg sac but have not left the cave. That is the ideal time to move them. However if you get them a little early, it should be fine, just wait until the egg sac is gone to start feeding.

I think baby BN are one of the few aquarium fish that there is a danger of underfeeding.

Once they get a little size on them, they should be fine in with baby raindow cichlids and the mustard spots.

 

[hollyfish2000]

I'll get a breeder net then.
What do you feed them?

 

[verbal]

BN fry foods:

Repashy - solient green or the all veggie one
Zucchini - boiled to get it to sink
Sinking african cichlid pellets - replacing with Catfish scrapers

 

[hollyfish2000]

Well, I have about 30 ABN fry in the tank! I got a breeder net and tried peeling them off the glass to put in the net -- and, well, let's just say that didn't work very well.

So, instead, I am feeding them boiled zuccini. This is appearing to be very delicious -- and they're also sort of hiding behind it as well. No one seems to be pursuing them for lunch.

I can't do anything sinking for them as they all hover around the water line, so I just clip the veggies up high for them. Hopefully this will increase the survival rate.