will yo yo loachs eat pleco fry

[MICEY]

I am thinking for breeding brisslenose plecos and have egg crate to divid my tank to keep other fish away from the fry but some of the small yo yo loachs fit through it , are they big enough to eat pleco fry , the male will protect the eggs
but after they hatch there on there own , I have tons of caves and rock and plants in the tank for them to hide in
guess it would be possible to pull the eggs and hatch them in a 10 gal but prefer in the big tank

 

[DragonFish71]

Yes, they are big enough to eat the fry. My rummynose tetras are big enough to eat the bristlenose fry, as are my white clouds.

Bristlenose fry are pretty small when hatched, even though the male tries to guard them and keep them in the cave until they are large enough to survive, they still tend to be small enough to be eaten. If I don't pull them after the eggs hatch but before they become free swimming, I'll lose at least half to the rummys or white clouds.

I've timed my males to almost exactly three weeks from the time I see their tails sticking out of the cave to the time I can pull the caves of hatchlings and put them in a grow out tank. That is from the time the male starts caring for the newly laid eggs until they are ready to be on their own. I've pulled batches sooner, but didn't have a high success rate of survival.