Biz's Bn Pleco Breeding Journal!

I would actually say male based on current body shape, (what I think is little bristle nubs on the lip), and at current size (compared to black tetras, are they skirts or phantoms?). The head is also fairly bound from cheek to cheek, not sure if the nose is larger or not from this angle.

 

Is that one of bizaliz3’s? It is so yellow!
Looks like a female to me.

It is! And it really is!! I'm surprised!

Yep. Most certainly is! I should say though that this picture does appear a bit more yellow than it really is due to some shade, but it has darkened up a lot.

Wow!!! Gorgeous!!
I'm thinking maybe female...but Mcasella has a better eye!

I'm thinking female too, and not really sure what I'm hoping for (more than likely female). It's a little smaller than my chocolate marble that is most definitely male (very substantial whiskers growing in). I can't even see any tiny lip nubs that some females get, don't see any red spot on the head, and I'm not sure what else to look for. Lol.

 

I would actually say male based on current body shape, (what I think is little bristle nubs on the lip), and at current size (compared to black tetras, are they skirts or phantoms?). The head is also fairly bound from cheek to cheek, not sure if the nose is larger or not from this angle.

Just saw you beat my reply. The tetras are skirts. I'm not really sure on an actual measurement for size. I just know it's grown a lot. So, does a more rounded face generally mean male? And a longer nose mean female?

 

Just saw you beat my reply. The tetras are skirts. I'm not really sure on an actual measurement for size. I just know it's grown a lot. So, does a more rounded face generally mean male? And a longer nose mean female?

With biz's, her males have shown to have a larger "nose" with an almost humplike look to the front as they mature. While the females are daintier with a slimmer "nose". Stucky is a good example of this.

 

Ya I find my standard finned juvies much easier to sex than my long fins.

The nose is pretty wide on that one.... But it's also kind of a short snout overall. And I can't make out a heart on the back. So that's why I was leaning towards female. But it certainly could be Male.

 

Are some of the males in this line particularly late bloomers when it comes to bristles growing in?

 

Are some of the males in this line particularly late bloomers when it comes to bristles growing in?

The long fins develop them later than the standards.

 

The long fins develop them later than the standards.

Ah, so the conundrum continues to thicken. Lol.

 

Plecos blow me away sometimes with their ability to hide/disappear.

Tomorrow is the big day. My fish auction. And I have 2 very nice standard finned lemon blue eyed males. I planned to keep one and bring one to auction with his brown sister as a male/female pair. I started removing ornaments and wood and all the stuff from the tank. I quickly found one of the males and got him into a breeder box. But then I couldn't find the other (I wanted to look at them both and pick my fave) I searched every inch of that tank. It was even half drained at the time!! Almost everything was removed except for the two potted plants. I dug my fingers into the potted plants to find him. He was not in those. I shoved my fingers into every nook and cranny of the wood pieces and ornaments I removed. He was not tucked in any of those. I shined the light into the HOB filter to see if he leaped in there (this has only happened to me once) He was nowhere to be found. So at that point, I was convinced he fell out of something I removed and was on the floor somewhere. I spent over a half hour crawling around my bedroom floor. I had towels and dirty laundry and all sorts of stuff I thought he could have potentially leaped into. (messy room) I threw things all over the place hoping he would fall out of something since he wasn't on the floor anywhere. I turned the tank light off for 20 minutes, then back on, then off for 20 minutes, then back on. He never came out. I put food in the tank. Nothing. All 5 of the young adult long fin lemons I have in there were out and about all over the place. But he was nowhere!!! And what is odd about that is he NEVER hides. He is the most outgoing pleco in the tank. So at this point, I was thinking maybe my dog found him and ate him???? But that is really far fetched for my dog.

Well, this morning I turned on the light and there he was. WHAT THE HECK!!!!!??? I am just blown away.

He was my favorite of the two. And my silly little theory is he was making sure I didn't accidently bring him to auction and not the other. (they are very similar in appearance of course) hehe. So he managed to find a way to not be found!

The long fins in the tank are still up in the air as far as gender. They are the same age as these two boys. And these two boys have had their bristles for a while now. I know I have some long fin males in this tank. Its crazy how much longer they take to grow their bristles. Or maybe I don't. Maybe they are all gals? But I don't believe that's possible.

 

Plecos blow me away sometimes with their ability to hide/disappear.

Tomorrow is the big day. My fish auction. And I have 2 very nice standard finned lemon blue eyed males. I planned to keep one and bring one to auction with his brown sister as a male/female pair. I started removing ornaments and wood and all the stuff from the tank. I quickly found one of the males and got him into a breeder box. But then I couldn't find the other (I wanted to look at them both and pick my fave) I searched every inch of that tank. It was even half drained at the time!! Almost everything was removed except for the two potted plants. I dug my fingers into the potted plants to find him. He was not in those. I shoved my fingers into every nook and cranny of the wood pieces and ornaments I removed. He was not tucked in any of those. I shined the light into the HOB filter to see if he leaped in there (this has only happened to me once) He was nowhere to be found. So at that point, I was convinced he fell out of something I removed and was on the floor somewhere. I spent over a half hour crawling around my bedroom floor. I had towels and dirty laundry and all sorts of stuff I thought he could have potentially leaped into. (messy room) I threw things all over the place hoping he would fall out of something since he wasn't on the floor anywhere. I turned the tank light off for 20 minutes, then back on, then off for 20 minutes, then back on. He never came out. I put food in the tank. Nothing. All 5 of the young adult long fin lemons I have in there were out and about all over the place. But he was nowhere!!! And what is odd about that is he NEVER hides. He is the most outgoing pleco in the tank. So at this point, I was thinking maybe my dog found him and ate him???? But that is really far fetched for my dog.

Well, this morning I turned on the light and there he was. WHAT THE HECK!!!!!??? I am just blown away.

He was my favorite of the two. And my silly little theory is he was making sure I didn't accidently bring him to auction and not the other. (they are very similar in appearance of course) hehe. So he managed to find a way to not be found!

The long fins in the tank are still up in the air as far as gender. They are the same age as these two boys. And these two boys have had their bristles for a while now. I know I have some long fin males in this tank. Its crazy how much longer they take to grow their bristles. Or maybe I don't. Maybe they are all gals? But I don't believe that's possible.

Yeah the long fin lemons seem to take longer to let you know if they are male or female (in the case of dot before she passed, I was almost convinced she was male because she was approaching a year old without any signs of getting more than the cheek bristles - the very edge right beside the cheek spikes- and kept having an on again/off again heart on her head, finally she plumped up a little and showed off the white ovaries).

 

It is amazing at how the little buggers can hide so well!! Glad he was ok and just a good hider.

 

It is amazing at how the little buggers can hide so well!! Glad he was ok and just a good hider.

It really is!! and how did he avoid my fingers???? I was shoving my fingers in every single space you can think of!! Even spaces that I felt were probably way too small for him to fit in anyway.

 

It really is!! and how did he avoid my fingers???? I was shoving my fingers in every single space you can think of!! Even spaces that I felt were probably way too small for him to fit in anyway.

I'm convinced fish have the ability to occasionaly teleport to a different dimension. I've heard so many stories and have some of my own where people have searched in every possible location in their tank trying to find a fish, give up and assume the fish died, then the fish reappears like nothing happened. I think we could have a whole thread on disappearing fish stories!

 

I'm convinced fish have the ability to occasionaly teleport to a different dimension. I've heard so many stories and have some of my own where people have searched in every possible location in their tank trying to find a fish, give up and assume the fish died, then the fish reappears like nothing happened. I think we could have a whole thread on disappearing fish stories!

Ok, who's gonna start it??? lol My oto's are alternate dimension masters...

 

Got some pics of some of my juvie long fins I'm growing out to be sexed. (And a wittle baby angel watching over)





This guy is the same age!! Its unbelievable how much faster and larger the standards grow! And man....I wish my long fins were as yellow as my standards. I wonder why that is??? I don't like how light my long fins are. You can see their dark insides they are so pale. It makes them look sick to me. But I know they aren't.




And here's a fun progressive group of shots. I'm photographing 4 long fins sharing nicely and then BAM! The standard Male pops on and knocks them all off. Even when there was another piece of zucchinI behind them that no one was on at the time. Jerk! Lol

 

Beautiful! My long fin has almost caught up in size with my standard fin. Granted the standard fin is thicker than the long fin but length wise they’re very similar

 

Beautiful! My long fin has almost caught up in size with my standard fin. Granted the standard fin is thicker than the long fin but length wise they’re very similar

Thanks
Ya, if you look closely at that first photo with the male in it, you can see that technically, if you include tail length, the long fins are the same length as the standard. And their bodies never catch up in size to the standards anyway. But the size difference in their bodies at this age is pretty significant.

 

The size difference is very significant with those guys, especially being siblings from the same batch. Larry (long fin) and Curly (standard fin) are both around the same size not including the fins which I find odd since Curly is the fat boy out of the 2. Curly is still bigger so he’s the boss and makes it known lol. They are both the same coloring too. From my experience with the long fins, they develope their colors later than the standards

 

Wow!

 

The size difference is very significant with those guys, especially being siblings from the same batch. Larry (long fin) and Curly (standard fin) are both around the same size not including the fins which I find odd since Curly is the fat boy out of the 2. Curly is still bigger so he’s the boss and makes it known lol. They are both the same coloring too. From my experience with the long fins, they develope their colors later than the standards

ya. You and tfreemagot some really nice ones from this batch. These 5 are sort of the leftovers. So they may not be the biggest and yellowest. But they do represent the majority. I am glad you have a nice big yellow long fin!!

 

ya. You and tfreemagot some really nice ones from this batch. These 5 are sort of the leftovers. So they may not be the biggest and yellowest. But they do represent the majority. I am glad you have a nice big yellow long fin!!

You surely sent us some big nice plecos and I’m forever thankful honestly. I think that those 5 will eventually get just as yellow as your other standards fins.

 

You surely sent us some big nice plecos and I’m forever thankful honestly. I think that those 5 will eventually get just as yellow as your other standards fins.

It was my pleasure

I hope you are right about these 5 and I hope I have at least 2 females in the bunch. I'd love to have enough of each sex that I could sell a breeding pair of long fins. I wonder what I could get for that!

 

Based on how Bej and now the current 2 colored up, they do get more yellow, but not as vibrant as the standard fin siblings. Their flowy fins make up for it though.

 

I'm sure you'll get some females out of the group. I can imagine that a long fin pair would bring in a pretty penny. Long fins are very attractive

 

I'm really hoping this one is a girl. Shes about 2.5-3 inches (including tail). One of the biggest of the 5.

I've really gotta get them out and get pics of all of them at once.

 

I'm really hoping this one is a girl. Shes about 2.5-3 inches (including tail). One of the biggest of the 5.

I've really gotta get them out and get pics of all of them at once.

View attachment 525764

Do females get little bristles on the side? I see a few on this one unfortunately.

 

Do females get little bristles on the side? I see a few on this one unfortunately.

Yes they do. And all along the lip too. Not always. But they can
Due to the size of this one compared to it's siblings...I would be shocked if it was a girl.
But this one has no red spot, and a shorter daintier looking snout. So I am not giving up hope just yet.

 

Fingers crossed!!

 

Hoping for the best for you!

 

Crossing fingers for girl!! . Beautiful pleco.

 

Welp, Buttercup is a confirmed female!! We have eggs so this line continues another generation!!

 

Welp, Buttercup is a confirmed female!! We have eggs so this line continues another generation!!

YAY!!!!! Congratulations!!
Remind me which one is buttercup....a long fin lemon, right?

 

YAY!!!!! Congratulations!!
Remind me which one is buttercup....a long fin lemon, right?

Yes, she is and THANKS!! I am so excited and relieved to have this confirmation!!

I have a trio of 2 males (1 standard and 1 long fin lemons) and 1 female which I was told is ideal because then the female may alternate and give the males a break from guarding the cave. They don't leave it to eat or anything. However, I have been able to put zuchinnI right at the opening for my red marble and seen him eating so I will do the same for Steph this week. I am not sure how long I should push leaving the cave so I am sure to pull it out before they start venturing out.

 

Quick question, is it possible for females to fight like males? Larry and Curly are both around 2-2.5 inches now and I have yet to see any bristles from either of them. I got this picture of Curly today and I’m noticing that the nose isn’t as long or wide as the males you’ve shown. And the red spot that’s usually on their head, isn’t that prominent. What do you think? Make or female?

 

Quick question, is it possible for females to fight like males? Larry and Curly are both around 2-2.5 inches now and I have yet to see any bristles from either of them. I got this picture of Curly today and I’m noticing that the nose isn’t as long or wide as the males you’ve shown. And the red spot that’s usually on their head, isn’t that prominent. What do you think? Make or female?View attachment 528061

Very likely female, mostly based on those ovaries. Looks just like the two bigger females I have.

 

Very likely female, mostly based on those ovaries. Looks just like the two bigger females I have.

Oh that's exciting news. I have to get get pictures of Larry to see if maybe that one os male or female. I'd absolutely love to end up with a pair of these guys

 

I hope you get a pair KingD !!

I got a few more pics of mine last night cuz I moved a few to a different tank.


This pic is crazy!! The color of my kitchen light made this boy look strikingly yellow!! There are no camera tricks here. Just lighting!




I think these two might both be girls.




There are 3 more but I didn't get pics of them. I think the other 3 are 2 girls and a boy as well. 4 girls and 2 boys would be excellent!

 

I hope you get a pair KingD !!

I got a few more pics of mine last night cuz I moved a few to a different tank.


This pic is crazy!! The color of my kitchen light made this boy look strikingly yellow!! There are no camera tricks here. Just lighting!
View attachment 528205


I think these two might both be girls.
View attachment 528207View attachment 528208

There are 3 more but I didn't get pics of them. I think the other 3 are 2 girls and a boy as well. 4 girls and 2 boys would be excellent!

Any chance you got a picture of their vents?

 

I hope I do too! I originally wanted the standard fin to be female too! So if Larry is a boy and Curly is a girl, I’d be pumped! It’s just what I want.

The fins in your long fins are incredible! Larry’s fins aren’t nearly as long as those!

 

Any chance you got a picture of their vents?

These are the only pics I got. I tried to do too many things at once last night and I didn't end up getting all the pics I would have liked. :-(