Bristlenose And Shrimp

[indir-emir]

Hi all,
Going out to buy a breeding pair of common bristlenose (want the experience of raising fry, plus i love the look of BNs)

Anyway, im wondering if its possible to keep the Bristlenose (BN) in my shrimp tank to ensure no fry are eating in the community tank?

Going to put in a few caves for them so they can pick a suitable place

When (hopefully) the BN lay some eggs, would they be eaten by cherry shrimp?
And will the fry be eaten by the shrimp?
Or will the BN eat the shrimp?

Also any secret tips to get BN to spawn regularely?

Off to reserach.

Regards,
Indir

 

[indir-emir]

Bumpity bump.
Anyone able to answer my questions?

Regards,
Indir

 

[Gilli]

The best way to get the adults to breed is to keep them well fed on a varied diet (lots of people make the mistake that they only need algae or algae wafers). Feed a veg and meaty diet - ie frozen bloodworm, shrimp brine etc and fresh cucumber, courgettes etc, - mine are partial to water mellon, sweet potatoes. Do weekly 25% water changes as not only is this of benefit to the good health of the fish but it mimicks rainfall changes which will bring them into breeding mode.


You shouldnt have any problems with shrimp and BNs together. The shrimp would eat the eggs if they find them, but the male will protect them. The female can be removed. once spawning has taken place. The male will stay around the spawning site to fend of attackers and fan fresh water over the eggs. When the eggs have hatched, the larvae will stay near the breeding site and the male will continue to watch over them. The male will even push them back to the breeding site if they try to escape. As you can see, the male should not be removed from the aquarium when spawning Bristlenose catfish; he is really important.

Frequent water changes are really important when rearing fry, because they are sensitive to organic waste. If you use a siphon, at least a few fry will normally get sucked up even if you are careful. It is therefore a good idea to drain the water through a net that will catch the fry. Bristlenose fry normally survive getting sucked into a siphon as long as you do not injure them when you try to put them back in the aquarium.

During the first few days after hatching, the fry will live off their yolk sac and there is no need to feed them until the yolk sacs have been fully consumed. When the yolk sacs have been consumed, a blanched lettuce leaf is a suitable first food. As the fry grows larger, you can start giving them newly hatched brine shrimp and then gradually increase the size of the brine shrimp. They will also eat algae wafers.


Hope this is helpful

 

[indir-emir]

Thanks mate. Have been googling most of last night and the rainfall mimic seems the way to go according to everyone So that will be it.

Now to just find a breeding pair
Should i sink the lettuce leaf with something(like my vegie clip)or just leave it floating for the fry ?

What size is minimum for them to breed?

P.S Thanks for moving this to pleco section, i wasnt to sure.

Regards,
Indir

 

[Jonathangerous]

depends on the shrimp. If small enough, you shouldn't have a problem. Be forewarned that I have seen small ancistrus rasping holes into the sides of newly molted atyiids.