This could just as easily be titled:
How to Breed Bristlenose (Bristle-Nose / Bushy Nose) Plecostomus - Ancistrus sp.
I never in my life imagined I'd be breeding Bristlenose (Bristle-nose / Bushy Nose) Plecostomus, but as of right now, I am on my 3rd batch of eggs and have 2 sets of fry living well in the aquarium! Here's how it all happened:
Quick recap: As you've may have read in my earlier posts, I'm about 10 weeks into setting up this aquarium. It was intended to be an African Cichlid tank that never came close to happening. Part of the first batch of fish I got for this aquarium were a male and female pair of Dwarf Bristlenose (Bristle-nose) Plecostomus (Ancistrus sp.). As I started to add to the aquarium, I got set on the idea of having a planted tank. Along with the idea of a planted tank, I decided to try my hand at breeding...
How it all went down:
While I consider myself to be a good breeder (I have 2 boys and am expecting a 3rd child in March), I have never bred fish. You, as a human, really have little to do with it. You're really just trying to "set the mood", so-to-speak, for the fish.
Setting the mood: After I had several plants in the the tank and plenty of driftwood (Plecostomus love to "chew on" driftwood) I needed to make a suitable cave for the male to call home. I decided that was going to be a small ceramic flower pot that I buried in the back corner of the tank leaving the top 3/4" exposed making a tidy little cave. I even put some Cabomba plants around the front of the cave to sort of give it a hidden or private feel.
The Male Plecostomus, however, decided his cave was going to be under a small piece of driftwood that I had situated front and center of the aquarium. So, now I have a small ceramic flower pot wasting away in the back corner of the tank. I'm content though, because he's found a home. He even pushed out some of the sand substrate to make himself some more room.
Now I needed to make sure the PH was low enough to encourage breeding. At the time, my PH was 7.2... A little high, but I could live with it, I just hoped they could too.
Mood - Male and Female... Check! Man Cave for our fella... Check! Atmosphere (Proper PH)... Give that a Check too! Now it's time for dinner!
Diet: To this point their diet consisted of Tetra Color Plus Tropical Flakes that I had been feeding the fish in my 29 gal aquarium. They seemed to like it well enough. I was also giving them a Hikari brand Algea Wafer at the end of every day.
But, now it time for the good stuff! So, I broke out some peas. (Keep in mind, if your going to feed peas, that you need to squeeze out the insides of the pea out of the casing, if that makes sense. It's easier for them to eat it this way.) I also sliced up a zucchini and froze it. At feeding time, I take a slice and put it in the microwave for about 12 seconds on high. This softens it up so it's easier for them to eat and (the best thing about microwaving it) it will sink if it's cooked! Let me tell you, they absolutely LOVE zucchini!!! They liked the peas too, but they LOVED the zucchini. They were getting nice and thick over the next few days, especially the female. I saw her on the glass at one point and thought to myself, "She's looking a little fat in the middle", something you'd never want to say to a lady. Turns out I was right though...
It starts: A couple of days later she was looking quite slim by comparison. I looked into the cave with a flashlight, and there they were. Positioned neatly at the top of the cave toward they back sat a compact little cluster of yellowish-orange colored eggs. They were about the size of a BB (you know... from a BB gun). It was a challenge to get a good look at the eggs since the male was positioned over them. The male will stay right on top of the eggs most of the time they are in the cave. He stays on top of them while continually moving his fins back and forth "fanning" fresh water over the surface of the eggs. This helps keep them oxygenated and helps keep fungus from growing on them. He's good at it too! Very diligent! Much more so than I would be. I decided I was happy to not be a plecostomus. I use it as inspiration... When my boys push my sanity level, I just think to myself that what I have to do as a father has to be way easier than fanning fresh water over eggs or new fry 24 hours a day! ;)
A little over a week later (I was checking daily), I peeked in and saw that the eggs had hatched! This was exciting! They were basically an egg that now had a head and a tail. The egg sack was still attached. They get their nourishment from the egg sack for the first few days. I checked on them every day until I noticed the egg sacks were gone. Also at this time, there are a few that have ventured outside the cave (they are about 1/2" long at this point). Now they have to rely on being fed to survive. I just used the flake food I told you about before. I just crushed it basically into powder and dropped in several pinches into the water. If you hold the pinch between your finger and submerse it in the water before releasing it, it will all sink immediately and not float. It's better to turn your filters down or off to let the food settle to the substrate.
It was next to impossible to count the number of eggs since Dad was guarding them with his life. It was the same challenge to count them all once they hatched too. The most I was ever able to count out at one time of the first batch was 11.
It was about a week after the fry had left the cave, I noticed that Dad was inside the cave allot. So, I got out the flashlight to peek in. Much to my surprise, there was another egg cluster! I did not expect that at all! It was just about the same process all over again. Meanwhile the first batch are growing quite nicely. All of them being about 5/8" long at this point. The only thing I am doing differently than I was before, is I am feeding flake food only. I decided to back off the fresh vegetables when the babies came out because I didn't want them to get hooked on that and eat nothing else. I have since set up a grow-out tank and I'm a filter short of having it running. Once I get it going, all the babies will go in there to grow up and I can start adding fresh vegetables back to the grown-ups' diet again. I don;t want the babies to get hooked on the fresh veggies because the object now is to sell them when they are big enough. I don't want to have them eating veggies and then go somewhere that won't feed them veggies.
As the second round of fry started to leave the cave, something unexpected happened... As I mention earlier in my blogs, I also have an albino bristlenose plecostomus female... About 3 days ago, I noticed her leaving the confines of the cave as I was about to leave for work that morning. I immediately went for my flashlight, and sure enough, there were eggs! I'm not sure what I'll get out of this batch, but I know I'll be moving her out of the tank very soon. I don't particularly want that to happen again.
That's about all I have for now. As soon as I have more updates, I'll blog about it some more! Thanks for reading about all the fun I'm having! 8)
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