Help, Bristlenose Eggs

[mumbles2011]

hi everyone, i came home today to find my male plec in a cave with a load of eggs. this is a first for me so need some advice on what to do next. any comments would be greatly apprieciated.

 

[amy1994]

I've never had any babies plecos, but you always leave them, or wait until they hatch if you wanted try and catch them to seperate.

 

[DukeT]

I had some eggs recently and was told the best thing to do is leave the dad to tend them.

He will keep them clean and fanned and they will hatch in 5-10 days.

Once they are hatched he will keep them in the cave so they can absorb the egg sack, which takes 4-5 days.

Once they start to appear from the cave, you should be able to safely catch them and separate them.

Mine are nor in a different area with some drift wood and spend all dy munching on algae flakes.

Good luck with them

 

[TwoTankAmin]

What to do depends on what else is in the tank. BN don't normally eat their young, but most other fish see any fry as being on the menu. If you have other fish that are likely to eat the pleco fry, the best thing to do is to move them. You can move the whole cave, with dad in it too, to another small tank. Just place a net over the open end of the cave and you can move the whole shooting match easily. I use a 10 gal tank for growout initially. Once the fry hit an inch you may need more space depending on numbers.

Let the dad and babies stay together. I liked to leave the dad for another week or so after the fry emerge in order for him to rest and stuff himself before returning both him and the cave to the main tank. The baby bn will eat the same things that the big ones do, only less of it. Be sure to give them something small and meaty every few day as well.

Oh, one more thing. Normally, once they start spawning they continue to do so pretty regularly. So figure you are likely get another spawn in a few weeks after this one goes free swimming

 

[iownupkr66]

congratz on the spawn