Need a pleco expert

[Kepo]

I have had bushy nose plecos for about a year and a half now. My most bold and active female seems to be getting a bit chubby. I am wondering if any pleco experts can tell me if she is gravid...or just a well fed pleco. I found a nice 3" male for her and introduced him into the tank a few weeks ago. At first she didn't care, but now at night he'll creep over to her and she gets a little bossy with him, nudges him a bit. She has never spawned and is about 14 months old now.

I put a terra cotta cave in tonight. I would just like to know if I can expect eggs soon. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

 

[Samzter]

Hmmm to me she looks gravid. Yet I can't be sure of that . Sorry.

 

[Fallout801]

She does look pretty good! Looks like a good hard belly. If you can catch a look of her from above usually good gravid females you can easily see a clear difference between the lines of net "normal" body and that of her bulging with eggs stomach. Before she pops. The male will have to be interested as well. He will have to dominate his "cave" and will fan his fins to attract her to it. Also many times for new plecos they will practice a few times before you end up seeing eggs. You may see her enter the cave quite a few times but leave nothing behind. Don't worry, even if she is gravid I'm betting on at least 2 more weeks depending on how everything goes in their world, and maybe longer. Keep feeding her lots! Give her a slice of zucchini, and they'll be breeding in no time because 14 months is plenty of time as long as she's been fed well and Is over 2 inches long.

 

[bob mccoy]

try to find a shallower cave they like small spaces to lay eggs in. find a flat rock and dig in the gravel and make a hole and lay the flat rock over it. like a cave. they like just enough room for there fins and to be able to turn around

 

[Kepo]

She does look pretty good! Looks like a good hard belly. If you can catch a look of her from above usually good gravid females you can easily see a clear difference between the lines of net "normal" body and that of her bulging with eggs stomach. Before she pops. The male will have to be interested as well. He will have to dominate his "cave" and will fan his fins to attract her to it. Also many times for new plecos they will practice a few times before you end up seeing eggs. You may see her enter the cave quite a few times but leave nothing behind. Don't worry, even if she is gravid I'm betting on at least 2 more weeks depending on how everything goes in their world, and maybe longer. Keep feeding her lots! Give her a slice of zucchini, and they'll be breeding in no time because 14 months is plenty of time as long as she's been fed well and Is over 2 inches long.

Awesome information! Helps me out a lot! I'll keep a close eye on her in the coming weeks, I won't expect success the first time but I'm definitely excited they're on their way to possibly pairing up. I've been feeding them zucchini, veg wafers, and occasional shrimp pellets (which she loves).
Thanks for your input!

 

[Kepo]

try to find a shallower cave they like small spaces to lay eggs in. find a flat rock and dig in the gravel and make a hole and lay the flat rock over it. like a cave. they like just enough room for there fins and to be able to turn around

Alright, will do. I was thinking of how I could make a cave myself so I siliconed a small flower pot plate to the open end of the pot and drilled a hole in the bottom. I didn't know they liked enclosed spaces so I'll switch things around. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Fallout801]

Yeah. Part of their natural instinct. they choose a tight area in which they can block predators from getting to the eggs

 

[Kepo]

I'm curious, would it do any harm if they used the sealed off small flower pot? I now know that their natural instinct prefers small spaces so I was going to pull that pot out and find something more narrow. I went into the fish room to do so and sure enough, the male has claimed the pot and has been inside with his head peeking out all night.

I'll put an additional cave in but it seems,like he has claimed his space. The pot is completely closed off so the bigger fish can't get in and harass the male. pic is what he is in now (before I put it in)

 

[Fallout801]

Leave both "caves" in. He may change his mind and if not it won't hurt anything either