plecoman

Alright folks, I'm new here and have a 55 FW with 1-13" common pleco, 1-10" split tail pleco, 2-sailfin plecos (1-8" 1-6"), and 2-4" longfin bushy nose plecos. The last water change I did, 6 bushy nose fry showed up. They are about a 1/2" long. I have a backdrop in the aquarium made out of fiberglass resin with all sorts of rock sticking out with great shelter and hiding places, but since I can't see behind the backdrop I'm not sure how many may be behind it. My question is should I pull out the little ones that I can find and then return them when finished or do you think they will flee the area and not get sucked up. I really want them to live. I know this is alot of plecos for a 55, but I,m getting ready to move and gonna get a 200+ for the next house!

peacemaker92

Welcome To Fishlore!

IMO, you could get a breeder net and pull them up. I hope a member with the experience with pleco fry can swing by soon. Good luck!

plecoman

Thanks for the reply. I guess my fear is that when I go to clean out the corners I don't start sucking them out from behind the backdrop. I love the way it looks but it holds alot of the bio matter. I'll have to get some pics so you folks can see what I mean.

Since I wasn't planning for any fry, I was wondering how many fry thy usually have and how often. I bought the 2 longfin bushy nose at the same time about 1 year ago and I believe this is the first hatch. If not I may have pulled out some without knowing!!!

Hello. Since there was no response between your posts I've merged them for you to save some space. There is an "edit" key at the bottom of every post for corrections and sometimes additional thoughts.
Thanks!
Ken

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!!!!!!!!
i would leave them and do a water change in a white bucket where you can see if one accidentally gets a ride through the hose

aquarist48

Hello PlecoMan and Welcome to Fish Lore. I hope you enjoy the site. Lots of great information and friendly members. I'll be looking forward to your photos.
Ken

TedsTank

Welcome Plecoman!!!

Ken's idea was the the same one that hit me. I do that with my fry and growout tanks. You can easily see the fry in a white bucket. As a final check, Tap on the side of the bucket, after the water has settled a bit, and you can see if any fry jump around. Then you can syphon or net them out. Even a turky baster is good to pick up the little guys.

plecoman

Thanks guys, you'r right and I didn't even think about it. I'll have to change the way I do things, a little. Right know I have both tanks in my dining room. I have a super small piece of carpet pulled up with a hole drilled in the floor. I've got a long tube that I siphon with. It runs through the hole and across my unfinished basement cieling and down to the floor drain. Way easy and fast to do water changes... The white bucket will work great!!!!!