Bristlenose Eggs

[fry_lover]

Was just taking out some bog-wood in my tank to catch the and i noticed a Bristlenose hiding in a one of the little caves in a big bit of bog wood, this always happens with the BN anyway.

The reason the eggs are coming out, is the tank is in transition (48x20x24) moving occupants to a 5x2x2 so i think i will see if the eggs hatch and raise the fry myself and let the BN do it their way next time, if there is a next time.

When he swam out i could see about 30 eggs, i have seen pictures of BN eggs before and they are massive compared to the cichlid eggs i am used to.

Anyway these eggs are stuck on the bog wood, inside the small cave part and the eggs are almost orange, so i presume they have been fertilised.

I will stick the bog wood in a small tank and see if the eggs hatch and take it from there.

I'll get some pictures later and maybe take pics everyday and we can see if they hatch etc.....




for the rest of the day the Bogwood and eggs will be in the 48x12x15 i had the Malawi in (whilst i was doing up there tank), there was still about 6" high of establish water in there as i only took the Malawi out last night.

I have dumpted the wood in there, the temp was 71F, so i am going to heat it up to 75F ish and add a Fluval 4+ (mature) for the rest of the day for some water flow.

Because the tank had about 40 Malawi in for a few days, there is quite a bit of organic matter in the tank, i am wondering whether to add a few drops of Protozin to discourage any fungus getting on the eggs?

However, protozin contains copper, so is it worth the risk?

Thanks

 

[stang1]

I wouldn't risk it myself as BN fry are so sensitive. It might be worth giving it a quick gravel vac before adding them just to be on the safe side.
Are you putting the dad in the tank as well? He will be the one looking after the eggs and the fry so best to keep them together.

 

[fry_lover]

i dont know who the dad is now LOL, he rushed off and theres a couple of male BN in that tank.

i am not mega intent on raising them would just to give it a bash, i feel a bit bad for interupting, if i had known i might have not touched the wood. But i needed to clear the tank to get to some fish i am re-homing.

i am not going to chase dad around to catch him, but i see your point.

i am sure the chances of raising them are reduced now.

if they hatch, i will do my best to grow them on for a few weeks and them put them in my 48x18x24 heavily planted community, they will probably be safe in there once (if) they hit half-inch

good point about the gavel/sand vac

 

[stang1]

Lol.
Try not to move the fry until they are about 1/2" as you may end up losing them. The dad usually fans the eggs to keep them oxygenated and also protects the eggs/fry from any predators. You may not have any survive as they are on their own but good luck anyway!

 

[fry_lover]

thanks, i'll keep you guys posted

 

[fry_lover]

some pictures, taken last night

 

[fry_lover]

Pictures taken tonight, a bit blurry, but i think i see eyes?

eye, eye, what's going on?

its in a tank thats 48x12x15 the bog wood with the eggs on, no fish in tank

I have moved the wood and some water to a tiny plastic tank i have thats on 12" long, 5" deep and 8" high, check this picture, i know it looks funny!

my problem is i dont have any airpumps or air-driven filters, the only thing i could use is a Fluval 1+ and put some stocking round it to stop the fry getting sucked up, dont this before with other fry

BUT......

what if i just did 3 or 4 50% water changes a day, i mean we looking at a tiny amount of water, no bother at all

and left with them with no filter or airpump and careful on the feeding, always have some algae and/or veg in there to munch with the ocassional protein foods covered by the massive amount of fresh water going in daily?

be okay for oxygen though? Especially over night (7 or 8 hrs)

 

[stiffler69]

In my honest opinion mate the purpose of the male is that he tends to the eggs he airates them, motivates them, cleans them, when they hatch he keeps them in the same place, rounds them up until they are strong enough to make it on their own.

You have took all this away from them and to add you have put them in a ####ty tank what isnt going to maintain a steady temperature due to it been open topped unless you have a super high rated heater in their, by the looks of things their is no sign of a mature filteration or even that you have cycled the tank it looks just like you have pulled some water out of your main tank and shot it in.

At a guess you will either of caused them fish serious damage if they even hatch at all in my opinion it would of been better to get rid of the eggs and let the plec's spawn again what you have done here is just cruel.

And to think their is people on this site who are desperately trying to get their bn plecs to spawn with the best setups and are still having trouble, yours spawn and you shot the result in a scabby plastic tank with nothing at all to maintain what they need to keep them healthy.

Im pretty sure many other members will agree on this with what you have done is cruel if you plan on raising eggs away from the parents at least have the correct equipment to do so

 

[fry_lover]

rubbish, LOL, no offence

you are jumping the gun big-time here mate,

did you read the thread? I stumbled across the eggs on the bog wood and the male made a quick move.

do you think the fry will worry that the tank is scabby Stiffler69? and the shot was taken before i added the filter and other bits

Oh well, i will just carry on this cruel, heartless behaviour and hope for the best. I will keep you posted though, if the eggs dont hatch or the fry dont make it, such is life, i wouldnt be doing this thread if i didnt care.

 

[fry_lover]

ok to be fair Stiffler, i will repsond to your concerns one by one, as atleast you have bothered to contribute, all be it in quite a clumsy way i think without establishing some simple facts and/or perhaps not reading the thread properly.

In my honest opinion mate the purpose of the male is that he tends to the eggs he airates them, motivates them, cleans them, when they hatch he keeps them in the same place, rounds them up until they are strong enough to make it on their own.

In your honest opnion? Thats true, i would say more fact than opinion and i dont dispute that, but the male is gone, we need to move on from that, i guess you may like to advise me for the future to keep the male around which i already knew anyway, but there is more than one male in the tank, they all the same size, i wasn't about to go on a mission and get all the males, put them near the eggs and do the Pepsi Challenge on them.

The other main reason for me just whipping the eggs out, was that all this fish are going from their current 48x20x24 to a 5x2x2, possibly as early as Thursday this week and definitly by the weekend. I made a split decision, based on the fact that tank is so busy with fish and everything was going to be up-rooted again in a few days, that the eggs stood a better chance with me, than putting them back in and hoping the right male found the right spot again to carry on his duties. And even if he did, like i say, it's all got to be moved again anyway, then fry would have probably not even been free swimming by that stage.


You have took all this away from them and to add you have put them in a ####ty tank what isnt going to maintain a steady temperature due to it been open topped unless you have a super high rated heater in their, by the looks of things their is no sign of a mature filteration or even that you have cycled the tank it looks just like you have pulled some water out of your main tank and shot it in.

Your point about my "####yu" tanked being open topped is valid as a concern, but since when has an open topped tank needed a "super high rated" heater to maintain the temp, this is pants mate. And if i put a super heavy rated heater in to a container that holds barely more than 15 litres of water, what then? it would overheat quickly on virtually any setting i reckon, or it might at least. I've got a 25W in the tank.

You say "no sign of mature filteration", thats because i took the shot before i added the filter, did that not occur to you, or to clarify, instead it just appeared to get you more wound up (i guess the wound up part through your emotive wording, but i could be wrong), i asked about just heavy water changes to see what the feedback was, it wasnt something i thought could work, but i thought i would ask about, that was merely to prevent fry getting suck up, not me not being bothered to set up a filter.

I've got x5 tanks on the go, all mature, i've got loads and loads of mature media to choose from.

"or even that you have cycled the tank" no you wont see evidence of the tank being cycled as you didnt ask about the filter did you!


At a guess you will either of caused them fish serious damage if they even hatch at all in my opinion it would of been better to get rid of the eggs and let the plec's spawn again what you have done here is just cruel.

So Mr Anti-Cruelty, it would have been better to "get rid of the eggs" just in case they didnt hatch or the fry were serious damaged, of which i cant see any evidence that leads you to think the fry are completely doomed? I think there are eyes forming in the eggs now since i took them out of the main tank.

And to think their is people on this site who are desperately trying to get their bn plecs to spawn with the best setups and are still having trouble, yours spawn and you shot the result in a scabby plastic tank with nothing at all to maintain what they need to keep them healthy.

Hey thats life, sometimes you just get lucky.


Im pretty sure many other members will agree on this with what you have done is cruel if you plan on raising eggs away from the parents at least have the correct equipment to do so

Your idea of whats "cruel" and what's not has know meaning to me Stiffler, and your comments about getting rid of the eggs leads me to confusion as to there you stand on cruelty, and what you even think "cruelty" is.

I've removed eggs from Convicts biting my hand to protect them and crushed the eggs against the glass of the tank, I've done this countless times, simply to give soe other fish a break, and also becuase i was over run of growing on convict fry, do you say thats the same cruelty, less cruel or just plaimn evil?

Your whole post seems to be "if you cant do it perfectly", dont bother, and you seem to have taken particular offence to my little plastic tank, that is merely a very short-term measure. It's really quite a sweet little holding tank that happens to have a big bit of bog wood sticking out.

I have a plush 48x20x24 heavily planted community with loads of small fish. I was given about 8 baby bristlenose at the 3/4 inch mark a while back and they all survived in it, so if mine get to that size, they have a nice home waiting for them, nicer than a load of rainbow fish, parrots and kribensis looking for a snack.

I am not wound up Stiffler honest, i wanted to give this detail to you hoping you'll feel just a bit better about it and perhaps a little more optimistic, if only a tiny bit.

I known plenty of peeps failed at BN breeding and not been able raise fry to a cm, whether they do it by the book or not (leaving it all with male)

If i fail, i dont think it will be because of cruelty, it will just be one of those things.

 

[fry_lover]

I have the temp at a stable 82F, its a 50W heater and not a 25W actually on the lowest setting as it is!

Importantly the temp is not moving from 82F at all, at least it's stable, was 82F all late evening and 82F this morning

There is a Fluval 1+ (mature media) in there with a decent level of surface agitation but it needs adapting as it still isnt fry proof yet, i will try and sort that tonight. fry proof as in, the fry might get sucked into it.

Hopefully the eggs will be wriggling slightly later today or tomorrow i will try and get some more pictures tonight

 

[fry_lover]

I dont think its going to happen, just took these pictures and doesnt look too promising, i see fungus!

The eggs are at the minimum 72 hrs old now.

I am sorry papa Bristlenose