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Hey everyone,

I thought that I would just let you all know that my pair of Butterfly Pleco's (L052) have just spawnd for their second time (their first was only about 22 days ago, on the 11th of june). I can't see very far into the cave to see how many eggs there are (although I can see some), but the male seems to be doing a much better job than last time (he kicked out all the egg's). He is in the cave guarding/fanning the eggs. I have a pic of some of the egg's from their first spawn that i might post later if you would like to see it. I will try to keep you updated...

One question...is it normal for them to spawn so soon after there first spawn? I know with my L144 they used to spawn every 25 days or so, but it just doesn't seem very far apart to me.

Cheers, CatBrat.

Congrats Catbrat, let me know how they do, would be interested in buying a few if you have any.

They will hatch after 5-6 days and all the time mine have spawn the male have kicked out the fry...it seams like the male just guard the eggs and dont care for the fry so if that is the case you have to take care of the fry by your self.
The fry is very small with a yolksac that will reach for several days and after that they eat softened lettuce and cruched green tablets.

Janne

Just an update...
I came home from school this afternoon to find the first fry out of the cave . It is quite large (about 8-9mm, i guess), had a realitively small yolk sac and seems to be fairly well developed (it already has some body pigment which surprised me).

As far as I can tell this is the only egg to have hatched out so far, as the male is still in the cave fanning, and the few egg's that I can see haven't hatched yet.

Thanks for the tips Janne. BTW, how do you prepear the lettuce? Do you boil it or just put it in the water?

Cheers, CatBrat.

If your fry have pigment and a small yolksac...it is 1-2 days old and not hatched today, I have read articles but never seen pictures about breeding L168 which is similar with yours and they states 9 days from spawn to hatch...maybe under certain conditions but both of these species eggs hatch after 6 days with a few eggs beeing delayed up to 1 day.

I boil water and just dip the lettuce for a second or two, I usually prepare more and freeze them separated in a plastic box with plastic foil between them so they easily can be taken out when using.
This is a very good first food for many species that gives small fry's.

Janne

Hi everyone,
I now have 8 fry that are all looking good (this spawn was no where near the size of the lst one, or else a lot of the eggs fungused and the male ate them). Unfortunatly 3 of the fry died some time today, but the 8 are still looking good.

I'm pretty sure that they all hatched out between last night and this morning because all the fry look the same, and when I caught some up this morning they still had there egg cases attached. The egg sac isn't really small, I was meaning that it wasn't huge, sorry about the confussion. It's just that I thought I have read some reports about the fry having huge yolk sac compeared to their body size, I can't remember where I read it though...maybe I didn't .

Thanks a lot for the lettuce tip Janne.

Will keep you posted...
Cheers, CatBrat.

Congrats, CatBrat! Back to school already?

I didnt had any pic of L52 fry but I had one of L168.
These fry are 3 days old and still have quite large yolksac left.



Janne

Thanks for the picture Janne. I will try to get a picture of my fry tonight, so to compear them.

Have you spawned both L168 and L052?

Cheers, CatBrat.

Here's a picture of one of the fry this afternoon....

Sorry about the qualiy of that picture.

And here is that photo of the first lot of eggs...


Cheers, CatBrat.

Yes I have spawned both and they spawn very frequently with just 2-3 weeks between each time, they give around 50-60 fry. I have heard and I have experience with other species that time from spawn to hatch can vary with several days but I dont know why...yet, it's not the temperature that's for sure.
The picture of your fry looks like it's 4-5 days old.

Janne

Any updates Catbrat ? How are the wee fellas doing ?

Sorry about the delay.
The remaining fry are doing great. I have 6 that are looking great, and are growing well. Here's my most recent pic...


Cheers, CatBrat.
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Congratulations on the spawns, both of you..
Question: Do your females have any hair on their pectoral fins at all?? I've got one obvious male, but I'm not too sure about the other two..David

Lovely pics, CatBrat! The fry are beautiful.

Congrats on the spawn!!

Congrats on your new babies.You don't hear much about Butterfly Plec's spawning.I have a couple,but I'm not sure of their sex yet.Would love to hear more of your tank set up,and see pics of the parents.Is it easy to tell the sexes apart? Once again Congrats!!!

Thanks guys!

Well my pair have done it for me again , I found the male in his cave with eggs on Friday morning.

Heres a quick tank over view....
There is only one male and one female in the tank which is 61cm x 30cm x 30cm (approx. 60 liters). Both fish are around 14cmTL. They are very easy to sex, with the male having heavy odontodes growing on the hard ray of it's pectoral fins, and the female having almost none (although some small (1mm) long odontodes are starting to develop now). The spawning site on all occasions has been a tile cave, with the approx measurements of 15cm x 4cm x 4cm.

Other info:
Filtration: 1x 200 lph filter, Powerhead approx. 500 lph (with air attachment thingy)
Temp: 74*f
PH: 6.0
GH: approx 60 (soft)
Ammonia: 0
Substrate: white river sand
Plants: one free floating medium sized Java Fern
Food: I have been feeding them on a mixed diet of bloodworms, tropical flake, and fresh vegetables (including zucchini, yams, and some others).

I will post a whole tank picture a bit later.
Cheers, CatBrat.

Well, I just finished catching up 30-40 baby's that just hatched tonight. Woohoo!!!! They all look exactly the same as the last babies (ie with slight body pigment, etc), but man I forgot how small they were lol. Hopefully most of them survive the night.

Anyway, the 6 from the last spawn are still going well. Growing, eating etc.

I will keep you posted...
Cheers, CatBrat.