Researching on Breeding Bagrichthys macracanthus

[Fishybotany]

I have been able to aquire 4 juvenile Bagrichthys macracanthus. Iam hoping to have both sexes present.
I would like any help on finding out what it takes to breed these guys or breeding conditions of related species that I might try on the black lancers.
So far I know that at least as juveniles they can cohabit together, with an obvious pecking order that is inforced with just circling each other.
I have two of them in a 40 breeder, one in a 30 gallon and one in another 40 breeder.
Thanks for reading.

[Proteus]

Wow. No one bothered to respond. I am interested in your project as I am planning on trying to get in some Bagroides melapterus when time is right for me to do a fish tank again.

How is the progress so far?

[Jools]

I don't think there is any recorded information on breeding them.

Jools

[Narelle]

When I did my research on breeding Pseudomystus siamensis (still haven't gotten to try, unfortunately) I combed through pages and pages of google searches and read every scientific article I could find on the species. There was a lot of good information about them that took a lot of digging to get to.

A quick google search just now ("Bagrichthys macracanthus spawn") turned up this PDF (from the catfish study group, according to the url) that has good information. It suggests to me that you'd have the best luck replicating the rainy season, both in water conditions and food availability. A dry season preceeding that couldn't hurt.

I didn't come across anything that suggested where or how this species lays their eggs, so it might be worth trying to replicate their spawning sites (flooded riparian areas) to make sure appropriate spawning sites are available.

There's information out there, if you dig enough, that can give you enough of a foundation to start and experiment with. But it takes a lot time and thorough searching. Since this species hasn't been successfully bred, searching like this would probably be the best way to start.

[Shane]

I spent years working with several bagrid spp, mainly Mystus, and never had a successful spawn. If I were to give it a go again, especially with a larger genus as you are contemplating, I would try raising them in an indoor pond or large tank keeping the sexes separately. I would then seed and mature an outdoor pond so it was full of live foods. Transfer the females, give them 4-6 weeks on live food and then add the male or males. I would stuff the pond with various plants and hope that the naturally occuring temperature changes and summer rains helped nature take its course.
No guarantees here as commercial fish farmers have tried similar (with Mystus and Pseudomystus) in ponds in Florida without success.
Hopethat gives you a starting point. Also, as suggested by Narelle, read everything you can about spawning successes for the family.
-Shane