Female Pleco-eggs

I have a female super red bristle nose pleco. She laid eggs a couple of months ago. I have lots of fry at this point and really don't want any more right now. I have separated her from the male. Is that going to be a problem for her? Will she continue producing eggs and if so will it hurt her? Will she get egg bound or will she just absorb them.

The fry I have right now are super red and albino. I have a super red male I will eventually put her with but not right now. Is it going to be a problem for her if it is a long time before I put them together?

 

I have a female super red bristle nose pleco. She laid eggs a couple of months ago. I have lots of fry at this point and really don't want any more right now. I have separated her from the male. Is that going to be a problem for her? Will she continue producing eggs and if so will it hurt her? Will she get egg bound or will she just absorb them.

The fry I have right now are super red and albino. I have a super red male I will eventually put her with but not right now. Is it going to be a problem for her if it is a long time before I put them together?

Well, okay friend, I'm going to jump in here with some ideas. I know nothing about fish becoming egg bound but quite a lot about lizards and birds with that problem. The remedy in both cases when it occurs, is calcium. Since its hard to get a lizard to eat a tums or calcium powder, we usually injected it and in a very short time (minutes), the eggs were expelled. Every single time (several in 20 years). Chickens were easier. They eat anything that looks like food and gobble up calcium if you roll some berries or hard boiled egg in it. That took a little longer- about 30 minutes. For Raptors, quail and other wild birds we mixed calcium powder in some fish oil and tubed it into them or just injected a calcium solution.
I believe the calcium serves to increase the strength of the muscle contractions that assist with expelling eggs. So i'm thinking that if you make some homemade plec-ello with even a little calcium, feed it to her maybe once a week while she's sequestered, you might avoid ever having a problem with her retaining eggs. Kale, spinach, broccolI have quite a bit of calcium as well (esp. Kale) so if you keep her well supplied with those, she may not have a problem either. That's all I know about egg-bound critters. If it works with birds and a 6 foot iguana (Sigmunda), why not fish? I hope that's useful!

 

I have never as far as I know had an egg bound fish but once I saw just how many eggs this little girl produced and the size of them I started getting concerned. I am thinking she won't start producing eggs until I put a male with her but I don't know that for a fact thus the reason for this thread.

She and Elbert were together for at least a month before they mated. The results of that are now 8 weeks old. She gets a steady supply of zucchinI along with other processed foods. Since I have assassin snails in the tank she is in the tank also get extra calcium so hopefully she is getting all she needs.

 

shout out to coralbandit bizaliz3 Mcasella hoping for an answer.

I really want to do what's best for little Evelyn even if that means getting over run with itty bitty plecos. I think Little Red is old enough now. At least he is now as big as she is. They are in separate tanks for now but if holding eggs will cause her harm I will put them together and deal with the results.

 

She should be fine separated from him .
One pair of mine that spawns every month has not since I could not find the male to return him in time for their monthly session..
It has been a month again since and still no eggs ..
They don't have to spawn and some don't want to ..

 

She should be fine separated from him .
One pair of mine that spawns every month has not since I could not find the male to return him in time for their monthly session..
It has been a month again since and still no eggs ..
They don't have to spawn and some don't want to ..

Thank you. That helps to put my mind to rest

Her last fry are now 9 weeks old. I am wondering if the female just doesn't produce eggs if there is no male around. What makes me wonder is the fact that She and Elbert were together for well over a month before she laid eggs. Maybe she didn't start growing them until she was in the vicinity of a male. I may be worrying for nothing. She doesn't look to be overly plump right now.

I was amazed that so many eggs came from her little body thus my reason for being concerned about her if she grows eggs without a male to help her release them.

 

You will just have to keep an eye on her to make sure isn't too large (in a case of bloat or egg bound), normal egg holding the female will reabsorb or release them without a male, I would cut back on protein a little to help prevent any issues from bloat.

 

You will just have to keep an eye on her to make sure isn't too large (in a case of bloat or egg bound), normal egg holding the female will reabsorb or release them without a male, I would cut back on protein a little to help prevent any issues from bloat.

Thank you Her main diet consists of zucchini, veggie rounds and occasionally I give her shrimp pellets. She is also doing a pretty good job of keeping the algae at bay. This tank sits right inside a north facing window so does get some algae growth on the side facing the window. Hopefully that diet is keeping the protein consumption low.

Little Red has just about caught up to her in size now and is finally coming out of hiding more. He is such an adorable little guy. I am sure he and Evelyn wll make some awesome babies someday. Just not right now