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Woo Hoo! The zebra plecos I bought at Catfish Cataclysm last year have finally spawned. My first L46 spawn.

Any idea how long until eggs hatch? I don't want to disturb the male by checking on them until after hatching.

Andy

Congratulations, Andy!

Congratulations Andy!
-Shane

Congrats- it should be just the first of many because the hardest part is having them start.

They can hatch in anywhere from about 3 to 7 days depending on temp. etc. Contrary to what many folks do, I have always been way to curious/worried not to check them one or two time a day. I have a small flashlight for this. I often find dad will work so well to hide the eggs that it isn't until they are wigglers that I spot them.

Often new dads may accidentally boot viable eggs. I have always used a turkey baster to get them back into the cave in such cases.

When do you think you will post a vid of you doing the happy fish dance?

Thanks everyone. I also like checking them with a flashlight every day. Wasn't sure if it would spook the male the first time and he kicks the eggs out.

Water temp is 89 degrees. I will check on them again Tuesday and see where they are.

Andy

I am not so sure abut the 89F part. I have wrestled with this over the years. I have had mine at 90F+ during the dry season. However, when we consider how things work in nature and if we believe that zebras are indeed seasonal spawners, then we must also consider what happens temperature wise.

The water temp. builds over the dry season hitting its peak close to the point where the seasons change. With the spring rains and mountain water rushing in over a fairly short period, spawns at this time should result in fry being raised for their first few months in relatively cooler water. They have time to grow some before they are faced with their first dry season and the warmest seasonal temps.

If anybody can clarify the above in terms of being reasonable or off base, please chime in.

I got the temperature advice from Barbie. Seems to keep them happy so I haven't changed it. But maybe some seasonal change would be good.

Bad news though today. The cave was abandoned and all the eggs are gone. I took a quick look last night and the eggs were still there but they didn't have the nice yellow orange color of other pleco eggs. They looked pale and offwhite (but not wholly opaque). Maybe they weren't fertilized?

Andy

I have learned never to argue with Barbie

Eggs that color are not fertile.

That's what I thought. That's not unusual for first spawns with young fish though so I am not that disappointed. I am more relieved that I now know I have males and at least one female. I was a little worried my group was all males.

Andy

Thought I'd chime in. I don't think rains drive a particular amount of nutrient or cooler water in the Xingu - there are no mountains. What determines how hot the water is is depth. It's shallower / warmer when there is less water and vice versa. The xingu is so complex that I think they're geared towards not being heavily triggered by any one factor. If anything it's DO ro current rather than temp (directly). I think also that when the river is deeper (in wet season) there are a lot more places for other plecos to live and so the pressure on breeding caves abates.

Jools

Thanks for the advice Barbie!

Andy

I always get curious when I read this sort of stuff, so I went looking for information about the head waters of the Xingu and temperature information. Here is what I found:

322: Xingu

Author
Jennifer Hales, Paulo Petry
http://www.feow.org/ecoregions/details/xingu

Here are two quick excerpts:

The headwaters below 10ºS are nestled between the Serra Formosa and Serra do Roncador in a depression characterized by extensive wetlands that are periodically flooded. This area contains lakes, marshes, and seasonally flooded forests and savannas. Compared to downriver where nutrient levels are low, the headwater basin is more nutrient-rich, supporting a greater diversity of herbaceous aquatic vegetation and mollusks.

Fish Fauna
...........The characoid fauna of the Upper Xingu headwaters are more similar to the Guiana Shield than to Central Amazonia. These headwater streams have fewer species, but they are widespread and able to withstand low oxygen and lower temperatures.

From that paper it is clear the headwaters are cooler, but not hugely so. So I am not sure how different the temperature might be by the time the rainy season water hits the Big Bend. What I am curious about in the headwaters is this information

Compared to downriver where nutrient levels are low, the headwater basin is more nutrient-rich, supporting a greater diversity of herbaceous aquatic vegetation and mollusks.

What happens to during the water's journey downstream to lower the nutrient levels by the time it reaches the Big Bend?

Round two has started. Male has a female trapped in the cave today.