L144 & common Ancistrus fry DYING!

[BBQ]

Hi All

I have 2 ancistrus species going, one of them been the L144(not the true ones)but yellow leomon color with blue eyes
and also the common ancistrus (dont have the L number) but brown / marble coloration.
I have started my breeding project about 3 months back and I lost my first broods (all 3 clutchs)
The 2nd attempt was successful but the fry are dying(300+ fry) but left with about 100+. They are 5 weeks old now and again I have new eggs in my breeding tanks.



1. Water parameters
a) Temperature range.(26'c Constant)
b) pH. (7.4-7.6)
c) GH. (not tested)
d) KH (not tested)
e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, levels. Ammonia picking (0) nitrite (0) dont have a nitrate tester ( I use Sera drop tests)
The color stays the same as when I mix the bottles.
f) Water change frequency (daily 20%-30%)
(Most LFS's will check your water and give a list of readings).
I have 4-5 LFS close to me but only 1 shop that does it but not very keen to speak to the new managers.

2. Tank set up
a) Size. (1200x450x450) but water level is only 70% full
b) Substrate. (Bare bottom)
c) Filtration. 1.(Ehime Pickup 2012)2. a aquavia submersible pump that does 250L. 3. 2x sponge filters Boyo 120L
d) Furnishings. lots of wood only and 2kg Seachem Matrix in a filter bag that is hung up with a fish line (not tounching ground)
e) Other tank mates. 40x white clouds (the fishes that cycled my tank)
f) How long has it been set-up? 2-3 months
g) When was the last new fish added? 5 weeks ago (the L144 babies was born in there) so does it count as adding fish?
The common ones was added from the breeding tank (2 weeks after hatching) I also added 1 juvi L144 male and 5 baby SuperRed/Calico long fines that I brought from a friend of my
h) Foods used and frequency?
Hikari algae wafers every 2nd day (6 disc each time) and daily with Zucchini (baby marrow as we call it)I feed at about 7-8pm and I take them out the morning or sometimes in the afternoon depending how much time I have.
I take 2 large ones and cut them up into 8 peices and microwave in water for 1:30-2:00 mins and cool off in tap water and feed

3. Symptoms / Problem description
I find that my L144 dying off really fast about a week ago and the common ones are dying off now too.
They become very thin and look like they have grown smaller (cos they are a month old) skinny as hell and tummy not full
The ones that are thin will swim side ways and sometimes upside down but just dying in droves. 20-30 daily for a week+ now

4. Action taken (if any)
Added medication (seachem Paragurad)

5. Medications used (if any)
Seachem Paraguard (correct dosage) I did the tank calculation and added 1 cap per 40L of water

I have tried to phone around to see if anyone could help but not much as they all said there shouldnt be any issues.
I hope someone can really help me out.. cos I have my 3rd brood that already hatched (150 or so on the L144) and
the common ancistrus brood may hatch today (but look like 70+ eggs only)

Thanks

BBQ

[BBQ]

This picture was taken 3 months back when I started the project (without heater)
You can see on the right hand side the first attempt of the L144 male fanning eggs
The wood still was leeching tanis but its all sorted, this brood didnt make the first 2 days
as I didnt add a heater yet but didnt think it was needed as it was summer 28+- in water.

The other picture with an ice cream tub on top of the tank and with aluminum heat insulation material
wrapped around the tank as we going into winter now so its just there for insulation.

[Richard B]

I've never had a problem with ancistrus fry dying except the odd one or two in a brood. Only 2 things really influence survival in my experience: food & water.

Food - you need to make sure food is available 24/7 which is best done with fresh veggies like cucumber or courgette.

Water - your changes seem fine as long as the water doesn't contain any unknown harmful substances ( added by the water co etc). What does stick out though is the bare bottom. These can attract fine layers of harmful bacteria that kill off a lot of fry. A fine layer of sand should alleviate this

[catmandave]

I totally agree with Richard about harmfull bacteria growing on the bottom of the tank. When I began breeding bushynose plecos I too suffered unexplained losses of fry. Try wiping down the bottom and sides of the grow out tank ....... it worked for me.