My Bristlenose Plecos had babies

Well the wife and I are feeling pretty stupid right now. I’ve only gotten back to the fresh water aquarium hobby since I was a boy. I don’t recall ever successfully breeding back then. Anyway today we noticed that our albino pleco stayed inside the large hermit crab shell I placed in the aquarium about 3 weeks ago when we introduced a few Bolivian Rams (3 female and 1 male). We’ve always had the black and white bristlenose plecos since starting up our 30G aquarium about 6 months ago (never knew if the sex, but now I know the male is the albino and the female is the std black). Even after feeding this morning the albino pleco stayed in the shell. Usually they find the HikarI Algae Wafers pretty quick. I told the wife to watch the pleco in the shell for the day. Well about an hour ago she texted me and said it was still in the shell. So afraid it could be stuck she slowly lifted it close to the surface when she saw a few babies escape and consequently get picked off by the Rams RIP little guys.

I’ll start doing some research but for now, would it be a good idea to put the shell, dad and babies in a hang on side breeder net/cage and add some food in the breeder cage? How many do they usually have? The plecos are about 4” long. Any other advise?

Thanks,
Roy

 

If you want to save any babies you probably would want to move them. You could have up to 100 babies - probably more than you want or need

 

Thanks for the reply. Dad is still in the shell...been there for about 3 days.I bought a plastic isolation and breeder tank from our LPS. I plan to place a small piece of drift wood from the same aquarium, moss ball and then weight down a small piece of cucumber and zucchinI with stainless steel screws for them to feed on. I've done a lot of reading and I "think" this will be a good course of action.

We just don't know how much longer we need to leave them in the shell with dad? I figure since they are feeding from their yolk sac that we can separate them now? We still can only see dad's tail most of the time and can not see ANY babies because it's a shell and they are deep inside of it.

Thanks,
Roy

 

You can move dad, shell & all. Babies hatch 4-5 days and will stay in the cave (shell) with dad for awhile. You can also use algae / pleco pellets or wafers to feed them. Dad should be perfectly happy to stay with the babies and he won't eat them or bother them in any way. You will have to vacuum or siphon the bottom of the tank frequently as you'll get a lot of waste from babies (& dad).

 

Update...finally got dad out of the shell and breeding tank (small plastic floating box with vents on each end). I've bee putting zucchinI chunks weighted down with a stainless screw and a small piece of drift wood in as well. We only have 19 fry which are now about 1/2" long. There are 12 albino and 7 black. I have a 10 gallon tank cycled and ready for them. There is some drift wood and anibus in it. It's being filtered by an Aquaclear with a sponge on the inlet. When can I move them to this tank?

Thanks,
Roy

 

You should be able to move them now. Just the usual precautions - match temperature and water parameters and slowly acclimate. Might want to also keep lights off to give them a chance to get familiar with the new home, then regular light schedule when they're comfortable. Then they can go back to being entertaining

 

Thanks for the reply. So, what's the best way to transplant? My goodness these guys are small and tough to be gentle with. I am almost thinking siphoning them with a tube into a bag. I know a bag would be best to acclimate them to temp and to add the new aquarium water little by little. Any suggestions here?

 

Can you use the box they're already in to acclimate / transfer them? If there's some way to block the vents / holes in the box? That way you could put it in the 10g, let temperature adjust, slowly dip water out of the box & add water from the new tank, then just tip the box & babies into the new tank.

 

No, this is the exact box...minus the top, divider and bottom divider (all not needed). The vents are very small slits on each end...can't really devise a way to completely seal it and transport them in it.

 

How about bagging the box? (Leaving the top open of course.) Tie the bag around the box.

 

Good idea...I'll need a gallon ziploc for this...the breeder tank is about 8" long by 4.5" high by 4.5" wide.

Well all is well...looks like 18 fry are alive at this point. They are doing well and feeding on zucchinI and HikarI Algae Wafers. Thanks for all the help.

 

Good to hear! They're a lot of fun to watch. You should be able to see them jockeying for dominance - you'll see 2 of them next to each other, they vibrate their pectoral fins, bump each other, jump on top of each other, etc. If they're on the glass you can see their little mouths going at warp speed - would love to be able to hear them!

 

Just to ad to this, bristlenose are unpredictable in breeding size, they can lay hundreds of eggs or less then 12, so theyre all over the place!
keep in mind some may not get fertilized etc.

 

They had another clutch...LOL

 

Busy little things aren't they!

 

Update: Well, this has been very hard for us. Mom and dad keep producing, but we are now on our 3rd batch (first two batches completely died). First batch was put in a 10 gallon with an aquaclear hob that was established (good bacteria) and water test (with liquid apI test kit) was 0/0/10. Tank was in the garage, temps were 80/81. Every other day 30% water change, condition with seachem prime. Feeding zucchinI and bits of HikarI Algae wafers. At about 5-6 weeks old we came out and they were all dead. Temp did rise to 82F?

Second batch...same thing except I added a DIY chiller (video below) and a Lee's triple flow in-tank filter (was established from a betta tank). This time the night before death of all the wife noticed they were all schooled up in the corner top of the aquarium, above the in-tank filter, furthest away from the discharge of the HOB filter, which of course has cool water pouring out when the chiller was on (chiller was on a on/off timer cycle which I tuned and monitored weeks before (basically the chiller dropped temp about 1.5F then heater kicked on, then chiller, then heater...the fluctuation was about 1.5F with this setup. Then next day all were dead.

Now we are on our 3rd batch...they are about 5 weeks old and the 10G is in the house now...no chiller, brand new fluval 50W heater (previous was an aqua-something 150W, yes over-kill but really just meat the fluctuation was much less). Wife and I discussed, we really don't think the heater would kill them...when it's on they stay off of it. So up until yesterday all has been well with the occasional one/two deaths. But then yesterday evening again we saw a lot of them in the same corner as the previous batch??? So I did a quick 30% water change and added a flexible air wand and larger air pump to drive both the air wand and in-tank filter (more aeration).

Gosh, I really hope most of this 3rd batch lives. There already a 2-3 week old batch in the floating fry cage in the mom/dad main tank

 

Oh dear I hope they make it. They are all so cute, and are my favorite fish. I have three but only one in each of three different tanks so no babies for me. Alison

 

I'm really sorry to hear this. That really is devastating, particularly since they started out so well. I honestly don't know if the temperatures would be the cause or not. So far I haven't had any of my tanks get to those temperatures, though they have gone down to +/-65 during a power out - only a few youngsters died. With good water aeration / circulation I'd think they should be able to survive those temperatures though. But it's always possible that the albinos are more sensitive than the brown/whites.

I wish I had an idea what's going on because there has to be something since these die-offs are so consistent. I hope somebody else has some ideas!

I've never separated the eggs or babies, just let Paz raise them in the big tank with the babies from previous spawns still there. So far I've had babies survive getting trapped in the Penguin 350 HOB filter, being siphoned up during water changes, and even one tiny one that mistakenly went to the LFS and migrated through the filters to another tank to grow up to saleable size.

 

Well, check this thread out...I posted there too:

Finding that 79/80 seems to be the most common temp to keep these fellas at?

 

That's a good place to get answers.
My main BN tank (45g) stays around 78-79 so I really don't have any experience with higher temps and babies. When I treated for Ich last year it was prior to any spawnings. (I raised temp to around 90 deg.) I often forget to plug the heater back in after water changes and they all seem to do fine in lower temps though.

 

Well at least it's one/two dropping per day and not an entire clutch. Still frustrating. So, there are 3 colors? Albino, peach and black? If so the mom and dad are black/peach respectively. Seems in each clutch there are far more peach, then about half/half white/black. The white ones tend to stay really small? Two died over night. Temp is 80F constant and ammonia nitrites nitrates are all 0/0/0 Added a leaf of romaine, weighted down with a stainless steel screw.

 

I hope some of them make it! I can imagine how frustrating it must be.s

Here's a good thread on PlanetCatfish that explains some of your color inheritance questions -

 

...and they are dropping like flies again Two days ago I separated dad from the current young clutch (between the size of the shell, dad and holding cage, I fear dad could injure some of them). They all have been separated from dad after their egg sac is gone. The large sea shell was almost emptied of all babies into the floating fry box. I then transferred the shell to the 10G where 6 babies remained (didn't want to force them out). Then over the past two days 12 of the 6 week old (about 3/4") started to die where as even as I type this the 6 younger babies are doing fine. Of all the prior 3 batches had a few here and there die early, but then once they are reaching the exact same age (~6 weeks) and size they kick the bucket. Very strange...if it were the tank conditions, then wouldn't the 6 younger and more delicate ones have died?

 

Dad will not typickally harm the, he is usually protective. Try crushing an algae wafr, there may not be enough food

 

plenty of food...chips of hikarI algae wafers (although the thread I mention above suggest limit these due to bloating), 3 chunks of zucchinI held down with stainless screws, two pieces of romaine lettuce held down by small drift wood chunks and one piece of sweet red bell pepper. This 3rd round didn't seem to hoard the zucchinI like the last round but ALL 3 rounds died about the same age/size (~5/6 weeks and 3/4" long). daily 25% water changes, conditioned with seachem prime, HOB filter with sponges and a bag of seachem de nitrate and matrix carbin, in tank bubble filter with sponges and eheim substrate pro (coco puffs for more biological filtration). API chemical test kits put the tank at 0/0/10 ammonia/nitrite/nitrates respectively...what gives?

 

I don't know. I breed mine in a 55 and never remove either parent. They come outwhen theyre ready. I like to feed them natural occurring algae first, so I make sure I have some growing on large pieces of driftwood. I slowly introduce them to otherfoods, but hey usually scroung for food on glass or wood for a couple weeks. Dad stays nearby. Ive had a few batches with this male and hes safe and occassionally protective of them.

 

so mom and dad are in a 30 gallon with 6 rummy nosed tetras, two rasbora tetras, male beta, sail-fin albino pleco (3" currently), two bumble bee cats, two upside down cats, one hilstream loach and 3 dwarf otos. I don't think these fry would last long in this tank?

 

That might be true, mine are in with 3 k loaches, a small group of neons and a school of grumpy gold barbs.

my barbs have tried to enter the cave, but the male bn body slammed him and he abandoned that plan.

rasbora are not tetras by the way.

 

Aquarist, I would love to see a pic/video of that 265G in your signature

Just thought of something today...this whole thing has got me really perplexed. This 10G used to be just a QT tank and I did use it once to treat one glow skirt tetra that at first has something wrong with its scales and because of it some fish were mistreating so it had some fin damage too. I put it in this 10G and used Bifuran+ (as directed). Then about 3 days later I noticed the fish had ich. Then a day or two later my 40 corner (where this fish came from) had ich (mostly my cardinal tetras). So then I raised the temp of both my 40G and this 10G to 85F and used aquarium salt (couple of good resources on line on how to do this 10 day treatment). The treatment worked too because after about 10 days the fish were completely healed. Then the aquarium sat for a a month or so until such time I had upcoming plans to use it as our pleco fry tank. All the while, because there was a couple of live plants, I changed some water. Then before I put any pleco fry in I did a good water change, cleaned the filters in exchanged tank water really good and added new carbon/de-nitrite. I let the tank stabilize at 80F for a couple of days and then put the fry in.

Could the fry be dying of disease? Do these little guys have spots on them when they are 4-5 weeks old? Ours have had spots but from up close they look like part of the coloring/skin pattern? Again, these are all dying at the same size/age (5-6 weeks and ~ 3/4" long).

If this could be a high probability, then how best should I treat or rectify? A 10G is easy to sterilize but what then, I need to cycle it and by then it will be too late for our new batch that is 3 weeks old in our fry basket in the 30G.

Right now there are 6 fry that are about 3 weeks old (they got transferred from the shell they mom and dad had them in).

Thanks,
Roy

 

Per request:

Ken

 

Nice setup Aquarist! So Blood Red Parrots will work with Angles? We have one in a 54 corner with 5 glo skirt tetras and 11 cardinal tetras and he's just a fun guy minding his own business

**I need advice please**

I have decided to move a lot of stock from the 30G with the mated plecos and just let the pleco fry roam free with mom and dad and a select few existing stock. So of the following stock list, which should I move out of the 30G to a different aquarium (think possible pleco fry predators).

6 Rummy Nose Tetras
2 Harliquin Rasboras
1 albino sailfin pleco
1 banjo catfish (about 4 inches)
1 hill stream loach (about 3.5 inches...fairy big from what I've seen)
2 upside down catfish
2 bumble bee catfish
1 yoyo loach
4 dwarf Otocinclus
1 male betta

Thanks,
Roy

 

What size tank are you moving them to?

 

47 bow front...regardless...of that list, which should I remove before dumping about 50 1/2 inch or less (about 3-4mm) brislenose pleco fry into the 30 gallon where mom and dad are busy at it again?

 

Bettas imo should be in their own tank.
Rummynoses would be fine in either one.
Harlequin rasboras need a group of 6+, but they'd be fine in either one.
Sailfin plecos will outgrow your tanks. They get huge and need at least a 150 imo.
Banjo catfish should go into the 47.
Hill stream loaches need a current and like cooler water.
Upside down catfish need a group of 6+.
Bumble bee catfish... I'd move them to the 47.
Yoyo loaches get 10 inches and would outgrow either one. I'd rehome.
Otos need a shoal of 6+ and I'd move them to the 47 too.

 

So leave the salfin pleco with the fry? Leave the upside down cats with the fry? Leave the Hill stream loach with the fry? Leave the yoyo until he gets to about 4 inches with the fry and then move him to my 55? So the betta is okay for now with the fry? Really, Otos will eat the pleco fry?

Just looking to move any possible predator of the list I provided soon so I can release about 50 pleco fry.

Thanks,
Roy

 

I thought you were moving these out of the 30 into the 47?
I wouldn't do any bottom dwellers with the BNs while they're breeding. Move the BNs to their own tank.

 

I'm leaving mom and dad BN in this existing 30G...just want to know what I can leave in this tank from my list. I know the Rummy Nose and Rasboras shouldn't be a problem...anything else in that list I should move to the 47, besides the mom and dad BN?

Thanks,
Roy

 

OK, now I'm confused. You're leaving them in there but you're going to move them? That's what you said.... can you please clarify? This is what you said:

I'm leaving mom and dad BN in this existing 30G..

Then you said this:

anything else in that list I should move to the 47, besides the mom and dad BN?

So which one are you going to do?

If you mean leave them in the 30, then move the rest besides the rummynose and rasboras into the 47.

 

?

If you mean leave them in the 30, then move the rest besides the rummynose and rasboras into the 47.

^Correct, I will leaving only mom and dad BN, tetras and rasboras in the 30G with the BN fry.

Thank you,
Roy

 

Ok. That makes sense now.