Bn Female 'patrolling'

HI there,

We have 3 BN. Two normal and one albino.

Initially we kept the albino in the smaller 23G tank, and the breeding pair in the 55G tank. The breeding pair was successful, and because of the 40+ fry, I thought I'd be clever and remove their cave/tunnel...only to find that they 'made a plan' and laid eggs inside the broken ship decoration...
So once he finished baby sitting those, he got switched with the albino. So 2 females in the 55G and he got the bachelor pad.

Everything has been great for over a month. Then this week I noticed that the 'breeding' female has taken to sticking to one side of the tank...like, against the side. She moves up and down it all day/night. She gets to the front side, then swims back to the other and then moves back sucking along the glass in a minute or two. Shen we swims towards the back, she does so with her eyes facing outwards. Found her a few times sitting on the plants/ship facing outwards.

She is eating, and I've seen her flare her gills just before feeding time. Not sure if it's the horde of youngsters driving mom mad... only other things in the tank have been there with her for many months... RCS, Black Crystal Shrimp and kuhlI loaches. Temp is 22C, water specs are great, TDS of around 100 and pH of 7.3.

Is she missing her man?

-G

 

No, she isn't "missing her man" females do just fine by themselves even after being with a male. Sounds like normal nocturnal behavior to me.

 

Thanks. Except she is doing it all day. And like I said, restricted to the area along to one side of a 55G heavy planted tank. The other female swims all over. This one isn't nudging from within 5cm of the glass on that side.

-G

 

Have you tried rescaping?

 

3 minute clip from IR cameras (white glow is the IR reflecting off the glass).

She does this most of the night and regularly during the day.

Have you tried rescaping?

That's be a major effort.

 

Does she have any marks on her? (The spikes she is flaring shouldn't be gills but the cheek spikes plecos have.) What does her abdomen look like? Flat? Fat?

Moving or adding a piece of hardscape would produce the rescape effect without having to tear down the tank.

 

I'll move some of the smaller items around.

 

Put her man's cave back in.

 

You might have to check for eggs even without the male in there.