males bristlenose not guarding cave

[Benji k]

i have 2 male bristlenose with 3 female bristlenose and they never seem to be guarding caves i did a 50% water change yesterday and i will see if they start guarding my male sf albino bristlenose has breed 9 times and the Lf bristlenose has never breed and i really want the longfin to breed any tips to get them to guard caves maybe i should feed more.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the caves made from and how big are they?

If the cave is too big or too small they won't use it. Have a variety of different caves and different sizes in the tank.

Bristlenose catfish will breed in pvc pipe that is about 6-8 inches long x 1-2 inches diameter.

 

[Benji k]

What are the caves made from and how big are they?

If the cave is too big or too small they won't use it. Have a variety of different caves and different sizes in the tank.

Bristlenose catfish will breed in pvc pipe that is about 6-8 inches long x 1-2 inches diameter.

ther like rough acrylic and i do have some pvc pipe caves in with them every female in the tank has breed before and also the albino short fin male i dont think the caves are a problem i think ther just not wanting to breed. and i really want my longfin to breed and ther both defenetly breeding size and both have a red dot on ther head somtimes they get in fights but not much the short fin male is the dominant one.

 

[MaloK]

i have 2 male bristlenose with 3 female bristlenose and they never seem to be guarding caves i did a 50% water change yesterday and i will see if they start guarding my male sf albino bristlenose has breed 9 times and the Lf bristlenose has never breed and i really want the longfin to breed any tips to get them to guard caves maybe i should feed more.

Hi,

I was doing it with small aquariums, half an inch of natural small gravel, one bubbler filter, one flat rock, making sure that the rock have enough space under it to let a tight passage for the fishes... Then regularly feed them parboiled spinach and zuchini, attached to a small rock to help maintain them on the bottom. Once happy with their setup they will have babies nearly all year long.

Also had greater success with only one Male and one Female both a little over a year old, per aquarium. The Male will start to try to mate when they reach at least 3"-3.5" long. I used neural water at about 78°. And it can take up to 6 weeks for them to feel confident enough in their environment to give it a go. They will also never breed if the hardness of the water is too high.

Just to make sure, you are talking about Ancistrus cirrhosus, Right ?

 

[ghyti]

The females will always breed with the dominate male. If you want them to breed with the longfin you will have to take the shortfin out of the tank.

 

[MaloK]

The females will always breed with the dominate male. If you want them to breed with the longfin you will have to take the shortfin out of the tank.

I agree the dominant male will prevent all others to spawn.