BREEDING BRISTLENOSE. WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP EACH OTHER.

elexis99 · Post by **elexis99** » 13 Aug 2006, 14:13

HI I AM NEW TO THIS POST AND THIS IS MY FIRST MESSAGE. I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HAD ANY TIPS ON BREEDING THE BRISTLE NOSE CATFISH. I HAVE TWO MALES AND THREE FEMALES IN A THREE FOOT TANK AND THE FEMALES SPAWNED AGAIN YESTERDAY AND TODAY WITH THE SAME MALE. THEY SEEM TO PREFER HIM OVER THE OTHER ONE. THEY ALSO SPAWNED LAST MONTH ON THE 15. I WOULD LIKE THEM TO SPAWN MORE OFTEN. SHOULD I TAKE THE EGGS OUT AS SOON AS THEY ARE LAID SO THE FEMALES WILL LAY AGAIN?? I HATCHED THE LAST LOT ARTIFICIALLY. DO YOU THINK THEY COULD BREED IN A TANK 45X25X28 CM. AN INDIVIDUAL PAIR IN THAT TANK. AN HELP WOULD BE GREAT THANKS IN ADVANCE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE WAY MY TANK IS SET UP OR HOW MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THESE GUYS IN BREEDING ARE PLEASE ASK.
~~SHANNON

Fish Soup · Post by **Fish Soup** » 13 Aug 2006, 17:21

It's normal for all the females to spawn only with the alpha male in the tank. To get the other male producing you will need to set up him, with at least one of the females, in his own tank.

Welcome to The Planet. But in the future please do not type in caps. Makes for hard reading and is considered shouting on the 'net.

Don

Post by **Barbie** » 14 Aug 2006, 01:24

How fast the female is ready to spawn again has more to do with the water quality and diet than time it takes the male to raise the fry, IMO. I've had males that had multiple spawns going all at once. One male should have no problem keeping up with 2 or 3 males. You can have upwards of 200 fry per spawn that way with just two females and one male. Raising that many fry is a whole bunch harder than getting them in the first place ;).

On a side note, please also add your location to your profile as it's one of rules here to help our multinational forum giving information that best fits the area of the world you're in. Thanks!

Barbie

elexis99 · Post by **elexis99** » 14 Aug 2006, 02:28

Thanks Don and Barbie for your reply. I will make sure i do all my details. Im from Adelaide South Australia. Would a single male breed with one female in a 45"x25"x28" tank. I never thought of the alpha male thing but it makes sense. Ive waited on another site for 2 days for a reply on my forum so planet catfish is great as ive gotten answers to my questions prompt. A++. I feed mine mainly on a diet of hikari sinking wafers with the 1 to 2 weekly feedings of dried split beans. How long in your experience has it taken the females to fill with eggs again? If i removed the alpha male with his nest, and two spawns, would the other male take over and spawn in his place? That way as the alpha males hatching eggs in a seperate tank the females would spawn with the other male and when the alpha males eggs were hatched the other one would have eggs and i would then move him into hatching tank and put the alpha male back in to spawn. That way i would just be swapping males over and the females would theoretically (all three) be laying each time. I have found that water changes make a BIG difference in getting these guys to spawn.
Thanks again.

Post by **Barbie** » 14 Aug 2006, 07:17

Each time you replaced the fish he'd have to reassert dominance and it would probably stress him. I would be more tempted to move a pair to the other tank and leave a trio in the main tank. Honestly, my males will usually stay continuously on spawns, as long as the females are ready, with less than a week or so of rest between. I didn't notice it speeding the females up at all when I'd take the fry at the wiggler stage so your limiting factor here is still conditioning. A varied diet with a mix of protein and enough veggie matter to aid with digestion is usually the best bet.

Welcome to the board and glad we could be of service.

Barbie

elexis99 · Post by **elexis99** » 14 Aug 2006, 08:11

Ok so i have moved the alpha male out of the three foot tank with the cave and eggs into my 48x25x28 cm tank. He seems to be doing fine and hasnt abandoned the eggs as i first expected. Wow these guys are great parents!! When they hatch i will either remove the other male and put the alpha back in the three foot tank or just choose a female and pair him with her in a seperate tank. Depending on whether the male in the three foot shows signs of breeding or not at that time. What else would be good to feed them? Would hikari sinking wafers everyday and the 1-2 feeds of dried split beans per week be adequate? I do a 50% to 70% water change each saturday and try and remove as much debris from the gravel as possible to keep their water as clean as possible they have a bubble air stream and a three hundred watt heater. Temperature about 26'C. If i kept this up and continued their same diet do you think they would continue to breed? I will definatly keep the males seperated. I have another three foot tank in my fish room with 3 female fighters 1 male, 2 half grown male bristlenose a female three spot gouramie and seven zebra danios. My uncle is taking them bar one bristlenose and i am going to leave that tank set up and get 2 female for him also. I really love these little guys and after spawning the bettas and getting them to 6 weeks and then dieing left me disappointed.(especially after i had spent $45aus on 100 pint jars and all the time hatching brine shrimp!!.)But these guys seem easy and the fry are hardy. Their great fun!!
Thanks again Barbie for your response and your advice has helped me in the right direction. Sorry to ask so many questions but i would hate to stuff up again.