I have babies!!!

blang · Post by **blang** » 01 Sep 2007, 02:56

I opened the door to my sump, pulled it out and low and behold I saw 5 baby plecos (bristlenoses). I called my LFS and my main contact told me to just leave them in there and drop a quarter of an algae wafer into the sump for them to eat. A few hours later, my daughter came running downstairs and said she found 6 more. As we were verifying the number, we found 3 more which brings the total to 14. They are at least 1/4 of an inch each.

At what point should I try to take them out and put them into their own tank? Is feeding them a part of a wafer enough? How old do you think they are?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 01 Sep 2007, 12:35

I would leave them where they are - I've had bad experiences trying to move very young bristlenoses. There's quite a bit of foody stuff in the sump, and if you give them a bit of food now and again.

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Mats

Post by **Coryman** » 01 Sep 2007, 15:56

I would leave them where they are for the time being but I would add a small piece of soft bog wood, this will become covered in bio-film very quickly, this and the other residue in the sump will be more than enough to sustain them, but the addition of a little crushed lettuce will help to give them a balanced diet.

Ian

blang · Post by **blang** » 01 Sep 2007, 17:25

Well, the number is up to to 19 now. It seems that every few hours we find more. There are also some baby cherry shrimp in the sump which I put in there yesterday so they could grow up before I put them in a tank.

Would you please explain how I should give them the lettuce? You say crushed but does that mean broken up into small pieces? How do I keep it from floating to the top? How about zuchinni?

And finally, how often should I give them food? They are eating a lot of the wafer.

Also, if they are a 1/4 of an inch, how old do you think they might be?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 01 Sep 2007, 17:38

Newborn Ancistrus sp(3) are about 3/8", so yours are probably pretty much straight out of the cave - you may want to check if the male is still sitting on some, in which case you could perhaps "catch" them by siphoning the fry up with a hose (must be a hose, not a gravel-vac), as the latter doesn't have enough suction to pick up small fish. If you decide to move them, make sure you fill the new tank with water from the current tank. This is assuming your current tank has fish in it that will eat bristlenose fry...

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Mats

blang · Post by **blang** » 01 Sep 2007, 18:12

The male is still in the same spot, lying upside down on the ground. (no, he's not dead) He must be just exhausted from all that baby sitting. I was wondering why he wasn't coming out at night or moving from that one spot under the drift wood. In any event, my daughter found #20 in the tank. I tried to syphon him out but it was too difficult because the tank is so deep. My daughter tried to guide me but everytime I got close, he would move. Is there any chance he will survive? He has plenty of hiding places but plenty of hungry fish.

Thanks for your help.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 01 Sep 2007, 18:56

Well, I've "lost" a small one (approx 15mm, 9/16") into my 400l (100g) tank when moving them from a breeding net to place them in a different tank. It's still in there, and at least as big as the ones I moved, around 4cm, 1.5". So there's a chance. [In this tank there are Pictus cats and large (7" or so) earth-eaters that don't mind munching on small fish].

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Mats

blang · Post by **blang** » 01 Sep 2007, 19:35

OK, We'll keep our fingers crossed. Since Dad is lying upside down, do you think he is done?

Our number is up to 25 (24 in the sump, 1 in the tank)

blang · Post by **blang** » 17 Sep 2007, 14:05

The babies are now about 1/2 inch. I saw a tiny one so I am suspicious that Mom and Dad are busy again. Do they do this all year round or will they take a break to clean the tank. At what size is it safe to remove the babies from the sump. I am not looking forward to that day as they are very active and it is going to be a challenge to get them all.

I saw one baby in the main tank but he ran and hid by his Dad.

cbmultiplechoice · Post by **cbmultiplechoice** » 22 Sep 2008, 14:33

I have a bushy nose pleco that looks like it's going to explode!! Could she be pregnant or just impacted? Thanks for any help...don't know if I should leave her or isolate her in another tank.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Sep 2008, 15:31

cbmultiplechoice wrote:I have a bushy nose pl*co that looks like it's going to explode!! Could she be pregnant or just impacted? Thanks for any help...don't know if I should leave her or isolate her in another tank.

Without a photo it is hard to tell if she is heavy with eggs or ill with some intestinal disorder (the latter is quite dangerous, and is more likely if they are fed a lot of protiein rich food, which rots in their rather long gut).

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Mats

I have babies!!!

I have babies!!!

Re: I have babies!!!

Re: I have babies!!!