New Pleco Spawn

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 24 Feb 2014, 03:57

Just over a week ago I was lucky enough to get a pair of my Pleco's spawn for the second time in 2 months. But this time I've been lucky enough to have the baby's hatch & are doing great. They are 6 days old & I have 29 babies that have survived & their yolk sacks are almost gone & they quite the little rocket swimmers.

Parents

Male

Female

2 Days old Fry

4 Days old Fry

Here is a video I took of the parents mating & shows how the female deposits the eggs at the back of a cave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOU6jUI_ISQ

PseudaSmart · Post by **PseudaSmart** » 24 Feb 2014, 14:10

Nice job with 2 spawns. Photos are nice and clear.
Your video is blocked from viewing in the US. Something about 'borrowing' music to go with your video........

Jim

jp11biod · Post by **jp11biod** » 24 Feb 2014, 14:42

the video worked OK for me......

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 24 Feb 2014, 15:03

Great footage of the courtship!

Pretty sure these are not s though ...

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 24 Feb 2014, 19:09

Yea I was looking & I don't think they are L201's either. But not quite sure which they are. I was told they were L201 like most are sold that are black with spots. I do have a L201 in the tank & it is different for sure. Thought maybe L142, but mouth is too small to be L142, so not exactly sure what they are, & the biggest is just over 4" long.

Here is a closer look at the female

Belly Shot

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 24 Feb 2014, 20:32

They're beauties alright. I'd say .

PseudaSmart · Post by **PseudaSmart** » 24 Feb 2014, 20:40

The first time I look was using my IPad. Using a computer the video is not blocked. Nice job.

Jim

Simon86 · Post by **Simon86** » 26 Feb 2014, 07:31

Hello

Definitely no L142. These are Hypancistrus, and very nice pattern. I suggest L136. How big are they?
Edit: Just watched the video. Looking at body shape,I tend to Hypancistrus contradens (mostly sold as L201 big spot).

Cheers

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 26 Feb 2014, 23:13

The male does resemble L136.

Here is new pic of fry at 7 days old. It's hard to get their pictures as they don't stop moving. I still have all 30 & are doing well.

They are 9 days old today,& will try & get some pics today & post as well.

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 27 Feb 2014, 05:34

Here are the fry now Feb 26 at 9 days old

husky_jim · Post by **husky_jim** » 27 Feb 2014, 09:54

Beautiful!!!

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 28 Feb 2014, 05:12

I think I found out what they are, even the fry & juvenile pics look the same.

Hypancistrus sp. (L471)

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 01 Mar 2014, 21:55

I think I found out what they are, even the fry & juvenile pics look the same.

Hypancistrus sp. (L471)

Unlikely, as that's a dwarf "species". Yours look pretty big to me, but that may not be the case. How big are they exactly?

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 01 Mar 2014, 23:23

They are about 4" long head to tail, & the body is 1" tall & 1" wide. The cave they use is 4.5"L x 1"T x 1.5"W & they can fit all the way in so they are not longer than 4.5"

leisure_man · Post by **leisure_man** » 02 Mar 2014, 01:08

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 06 Mar 2014, 00:17

here are the little guys at 13 days old

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 07 Mar 2014, 06:58

Here is a pic of one of the fry today Mar 6 at 17 days old now. I am feeding them a mixture of crushed flakes, algae wafer powder, shrimp pellet powder & brine shrimp fry. I also added a few baby Mollies to the 3G tank to help take care of any leftover food. The fry at night time are all over the tank now & I see them sucking on the driftwood, moss, glass & anything else they can find & a few of them are getting plump already.

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 14 Mar 2014, 20:19

Here are the little guys on Monday when they were 21 days old

Their bellies have now gotten colour & are not see through anymore & they are now playing & chasing each other around the tank.

Narwhal72 · Post by **Narwhal72** » 14 Mar 2014, 20:34

It may be just me but it looks like the fry are suffering from "snub nose".

This is a condition caused by the egg shell being too hard (caused by hard water) and the fry become deformed trying to break out of the shell.

I have dealt with this before in some L15 I spawned years ago before switching to RO water.

Hopefully I am wrong and your fry contine to develop into fish as beautiful as the parents!

Andy

leisure_man · Post by **leisure_man** » 15 Mar 2014, 09:05

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 18 Mar 2014, 18:52

This morning I noticed that the male is in the same cave for the third time with one of the females & it's been one month to the day since the fry started hatching, so they seem to be on a 5-6 week cycle now. Since I had a good success rate with the last batch, I will do the same this time as well & hope for the same or better success.

Narwhal72 · Post by **Narwhal72** » 19 Mar 2014, 02:03

Good luck with the next spawn. Keep an eye out for more snub nosed deformities. If you use very soft water that should prevent it.

Andy

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 28 Mar 2014, 15:41

Yesterday morning the female left the cave, & I looked inside the cave & the male was guarding another clutch of eggs, so I moved him with the cave & eggs to the 2G tank again. So here's to hoping for another 30+ babies in a few days.

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 10 May 2014, 20:21

UPDATE

The last clutch of fry didn't make it, something went wrong with the heater in the tank & it got too hot.

The female laid another clutch of eggs on May 6 & the male has been guarding the eggs since. The male has been very active in the cave today so they must be starting to hatch & should see the first of the new wigglers today sometime.

Next is hopefully my L264, they have been frisky for the last while but no eggs yet.

iziko · Post by **iziko** » 11 May 2014, 05:06

Very nice job.

Please keep updating.

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 11 May 2014, 21:32

The fry started hatching yesterday morning & had my first wiggler from this batch at dinner time last night & now there are 8 little fry so far out of the cave. I'm hoping for around 40 this time. Especially now that the male has done this a few times.

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 14 May 2014, 01:57

So far I have 28 fry out of the cave now & have lost 3 more. The male is still in the cave, so there is still more to come. Here is a pic of some of the fry cuddled up together.

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 14 May 2014, 05:10

I finally got a good pic of one of the 3 month old fry

victoriaz24 · Post by **victoriaz24** » 25 May 2014, 02:50

The fry have now no yolk left & they now have black & white colour. The male was still in the cave a few days ago, & was going to take him & the cave out of the hatchery tank, but I shinned a flashlight in the cave & saw some fry swimming around in the cave, so I left it. This morning I woke up & there was only a few fry swimming around the filter & the rest were missing. So I looked in the cave & most of the fry have made their way back into the cave with the male which is a first, but I still have around 30 fry, but hard to tell for sure how many are in the cave.

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