How To Get Bristle Nose To Breed?

[Rorie]

I got a breeding pair of bristlenose about 4 months ago. They are in a tank with caves and bog wood, along with other smaller bristlenose.

The male is always in one of the caves. But the female never goes there.

So how can i encourage them to spawn? What water conditions are ideal? Can i feed them something to 'condition' them?

 

[Tolak]

What are you feeding now? I've found that cooler water changes, fresh veggies, along with just a little bbs will often induce them to spawn. Running some peat in a filter helps as well, adds some tannins, and a bit of what can only be described as dirt to the tank. For some reason mine don't like a tank that is too clean, bare bottom with some of the peat that has leaked out on the bottom seems to keep them happy.

 

[Rorie]

The PH is sitting at 6.5 just now. Would there be any additional benefit to running peat in the filter? What is tannins? and what exactly is bbs?

Currently i feed bottom feeder pellets. Algae tablets and the likes. The only veg i have really tried is courgette. What else works and how to serve? Potatoes i think, but do i boil them a little first?

 

[Baccus]

Mine get a combinatinon of shrimp pellets, fish flakes, sinking wafers, blood worms and carrot. Plus they have live plants in their tanks along with natural timber and mine don't seem to stop breeding. Although bristle noses are predominately vegetarian I find mine are really partial to some protien. I have heard of people giving them pumpkin, potato might be ok but you may have to get rid of a lot of the starch in potato prior to feeding it to them, par boiled (not totally soft) might work best. You could also give them fruit like apple, mine often eat the fruit from my Icecream bean tree, I have also given mine the white part of watermelon with a little of the red still attached and they seemed to like that with no ill effects. Peas and beans would also be eaten by them and I think they would also have a go at a cob of corn they will also have a go at lettuce.

Once they start breeding they pretty much wont stop, and usually with each future batch of eggs you will get larger numbers of eggs laid.

 

[JenCliBee]

some sound advice given.... the basic principles for breeding the common varieties of BN are a tank with water, caves and a good diet and they usually get down to it themselves.


Daily cool water changes will help, while doing this feed a high protein diet.... bloodworm, tetra prima... well tbh anything high in protein will do but vary it.


Food wise you can feed pretty much anything, even banana but this if not careful can deteriorate water quality, peas as mentioned but make sure you de-shell.... sweet corn for me is a no no.... the shells aren't as easily removed as peas and 'can' cause the fish problems while eating and digesting.


Potatoes, courgette, cucumber, broccoli, apple, carrots, lettuce, butternut squash are just a few that i use for my plecs.


When the female is ready she will try entering the males cave, patients and doing the stuff above will all go along way to successful breeding

Good luck

 

[fluttermoth]

Mine go crazy for tomato; the end slice so it has no seeds.