Albino Bristlenose Plecos

[FawnN]

Can anyone tell me what to expect with a spawning pair of plecos? My male pleco has not come out of the cave for over a week now.

Could it be he just doesn't like coming out or did they really spawn? I remember seeing my female huge one day and the next day she was skinny again. She wonders the tank all the time and he hasn't come out.

How long does it take for the eggs to hatch? Any additional information would be great. Thanks!

 

[lmw80]

The expert on this and I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, is BrianNY...might want to pm him. He's been breeding these guys for quite some time now.

 

[BrianNY]

Congrats Fawn. The male will guard eggs and fry until they are free swimming. This usually is about a week from the eggs being laid. It's quite an awesome sight to suddenly discover all thos little pink pleco babies swimming around your tank.

I put a piece of microwaved broccoli stem in the tank the day they go free swimming. They're amazingly hungry. Good Luck.

 

[Jchillin]

Or, you can take a look at the handy dandy profile that he helped submit just for this kind of question: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=68483

 

[Jchillin]

Well, well...amazing that you showed up just as I was linking the profile...LOL.

 

[BrianNY]

 

[FawnN]

I've got tons of babies!!! woooo hooooo!!! There is about 100+ babies. They are so tiny and so very cute!!

This is truly exciting.

Here's a better picture of them.

 

[rich311k]

Congrats. Way to go!!!

 

[Jchillin]

Congrats FawnN - Nice job!

 

[Billsgate]

Congrats!!! Good job!!
Now to find a home for all the little buggers?

 

[BrianNY]

Way to go Fawn.

My pairs produce a VERY high percentage of dwarves. I believe this is inherent in their genetics and am curious if yours are the same.

 

[FawnN]

Hmmm, I didn't know that. I will let you know how they turn out.

 

[fish_4_all]

I know what you can do with some of them. . My LFS rarely carries them and then never females.

Anyway, congrats and best of luck. I guess this might be my next choice for breeding program. Cory's have been a lot of fun and it sounds like the pleco is a lot less effort.

 

[fish_4_all]

Question?
Did the plecos breed in the large community tank? It seems to me that the tank mates would have a hay day with the babies and maybe the eggs. Is the male that defensive of the eggs and the cave?

 

[FawnN]

Amazingly enough, I had them in a temporary 20 gallon tank with my Neolamprologus brichardi. The male pleco some how got underneath my castle and never came out.

He guarded and protected them for 2 weeks before I moved them. Lucky for me, all of them were in the crevice of the castle, so I just lifted the castle and placed it in my bucket. I think I only lost 2 or 3 of them during the move.

And now, it looks like my female is about to pop again. If I get another batch, I'll let you know.

 

[BrianNY]

With that many fry in a 10g you're going to have to keep a close watch on the nitrates and pH. As you know they are poop machines. At this age they are intolerant of pH swings. How are you handling pwcs?

 

[FawnN]

I am doing partial water changes in the morning and in the evening to keep the water parameters where they should be.

And after Monday, there will only be about 10 of them left and it will give me an excuse to set up my 40 gallon breeder tank for the next batch. LOL

 

[fish_4_all]

One other question, for now. Did you boil the asparagus or is it raw? If you boiled it, how long?