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well i got 3 bristlenoses 2 weeks ago 2 females 1 male hopeing, to breed them when they get a bit bigger. So i put lots of caves, tunnerls etc in the tank. So the male decides to dig under a bit of driftwood so he has to go in it upside down and its a bit on the tight side.

So i was wondering do you think when they are ready to spawn will they spawn there seeing thats where the male spends all his time and only comes out for food.

Thanks for your answers!

Time will tell. Once he gets his bristles keep and eye out to see if he lets a female in there. If so, then he doesn't come out for a week you will know there are fry under the wood

He may pick a cave once it is breeding time, but if he likes it there he may just stay

My male, first two spawns, dug out a cave under a piece of slate, so the male will find a place to spawn. Obviously, it's much better if there's already a cave that is suitable. The males seem to like a flat cave with very little space above, like under flat rock or a terracotta saucer [for flower pots]. Cut a bit of the edge of a terracotta saucer, and you've got a pretty good cave.

In the two incestious spawns where mum bred with her own son, the cave was half a bamboo-pipe, and I've heard of males taking residence in PVC pipes too, so I don't think they are particularly picky about the shape or material. More choice is certainly better...

As to when they spawn, it will depend on the male and female being conditioned.

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Mats

well my females are near enought out all the time or on the drift wood, my male spends most of his time under his cave hes got bristles but there only small compared to my other common male which is full grown in my other tank. I feed them pellets, algae wafers and cucumber and sometime bloodworms.

I posted a pics a few weeks ago with my plump female they are about 3 inches from head to tail

The only clue that I had in regard to my recent Ancistrus spawning, was that I hadn't seen the male for a few days and went looking. I certainly hadn't initiated any conditioning - it was totally unexpected.

I've had several stumps in the tank for a few years, and both the male and female have chosen rather pokey alchoves, and they also slip and hang in there up-side-down. However, the male's haunt had been vacant for several days.

I found him in one of my Cory's tunnels. These are poly-pipe with tank gravel siliconed inside and out, and give about 5mm clearance around an adult Ancistrus.

It was the silhouettes of the little buggers (about 12mm long) against this clearance that told us the deed had been done. I'd never seen the Ancistrus in these tunnels previously.