BN pleco constantly laying eggs.

[jennandjuicetm]

I got a baby albino bn pleco Saturday. Sunday after a water change in the QT tank she layed a gazillion (ish) eggs. They are everywhere. After reading about them more, I think I triggered her to breed with the water change. Do females tend to lay a gazillion eggs often or am I right in thinking that once she's settled in to the main tank with less and smaller water changes in a few weeks her egg laying will die down? I was thinking of getting another one but they are too young to gender at the pet store and I really only want two if the other is a male. I was hoping for a male this go-round anyway because I love their bristles. Sigh.

 

[toddnbecka]

BN pleco's normally lay eggs in a single clump, 30-40 for a young female, and it typically takes weeks between spawns for another batch to mature. You say yours is a baby, exactly how big is it?

 

[icydeath]

About buying a male, you could order one online. I think there are some sites that will let you pick the gender.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

I think she's about 3/4". Some were in a clump, others were strewn about. Most of them are very sticky. Theses are just the six on the wall of the tank.

 

[toddnbecka]

I can't imagine a tiny BN like that laying eggs, even at 2" they're still too small to produce any yet. What else is in the tank?

 

[MICEY]

are you shore there not snail eggs

 

[Dallascowboys16]

They are nerite snail eggs. Bristle noses don't lay eggs like that, they lay them in clutches in a hiding place.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

The only other thing in the tank is a beta. I do have nerites and they were in this tank but they aren't anymore. I completely cleaned it out between them and these two also. The store did have all kinds of snails, including nerites but how would the eggs have gotten on the tank wall?

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Nerites lay lines of eggs exactly like that on the glass, decor, plants, almost everything. You probe got a hitchhiker but the eggs can't hatch in freshwater and need brackish.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Where would the snail have hiked in on? I only got the pleco and the betta, no plants or anything.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Today at vacuum/water change time I thought maybe I was just seeing pleco poop but upon further inspection I found more "eggs." I clean the tank every day because it's bare bottom and I can't handle seeing all the debris at the bottom. I tend to check pretty closely but it's possible I missed these ones the other day. I also watched the pleco poop and it doesn't look like the eggs at all so I ruled that out. More pictures to follow.

 

[jennandjuicetm]

I also checked for snails and saw none. Tomorrow I'm going to take one in to work and put it under the microscope and see what it looks like! :what:

 

[toddnbecka]

Hard to judge size, but they look too small and definitely the wrong shape for BN eggs. The brown juvie on the left was probably about the same size as yours is now:

 

[jennandjuicetm]

I looked at the egg and pleco poop under the scope! Pictures coming soon, holy crap its so cool!

 

[jennandjuicetm]

Started a new thread in the general discussion section. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/what-is-this-egg-316086.html

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[mattcham]

Your pleco is a tiny baby. There is no way it's laying eggs anytime soon.

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