PlanetCatfish.com

The breeding reports for planiloricaria cryptodon kind of leave something to be desired in the way of information.
I think these are just awesome looking fish and I have been playing with the idea of purchasing a male/female pair. I have pretty much decided to do it now that I have set up another 75 gallon tank with an environment that happens to be perfect for these guys.
If they never spawned for me I would still have 2 really cool whiptails…. But as a breeder I obviously would prefer that they do spawn for me.
If anybody has experience with these fish specifically an would like to chime in that would be cool.
Thanks!

Hi Phoenix.L,

Often times there is more information in the forums than in the BLOGs. Have you tried a search of the forums? Here are some results I found, just searching for "cryptodon."

search.php?keywords=cryptodon&terms=all ... mit=Search

There's a lot there, both about keeping and some about breeding. Hopefully you find something helpful.

Good luck with them if you get them!

Cheers, Eric

It's extremely difficult to breed with a single pair, especially if one dies. I suggest you start with six or ten fish in a species only tank. Hopefully 6 males and 4 females.

You will have even better odds with a second tank containing 6 males and 4 females too.

And even higher probability of spawning with a third tank...

I speak from experience breeding a lot of different species.

Groups always do better.

In some species males need competition in order to even try. In others, the group helps the fishes to feel at home

In a tank, we always select on the ability to adapt to life in a tank. Some do better than others, and if you start with more, chances are much better you have a male and female which accept your tank enough to breed.

Obviously if the fish are rather large, keeping a group will become a problem, but that is not the issue here.