My Bristlenoses Spawned And I Didn't Even Notice

[Aussie_Dog]

Okay, so I have a male Bristlenose and a female Bristlenose (obviously, going by the subject title). I also have a Rubbernose, which I think of as a male, but really, it could be anything. The Rubbernose is boss, and he takes charge of his rock, and the other plecos and loaches leave him alone. About a week ago, though, I saw the male Bristlenose starting to challenge the Rubbernose, and I actually got video of them grappling and fighting. When I noticed that the male Bristlenose had a gash in his back, I got concerned (heck yeah!) and vowed to try to catch him so I could move him to the 10gal tank with the ADFs. I decided to move him instead of the Rubbernose since the Rubbernose would have to go with his rock, and it's a big thing and I'm not sure how well it'd fit in the 10gal. So the Bristlenose "won" by default. However, he promptly vanished, and while I kept an eye out for a belly-up Bristlenose, I never saw him, dead or alive. I have a castle in there (I want to get it out, but the fish seem to like it so much that it's stayed in there and been a glaring contrast to the rocks and wood and plants), and I figured the BN was hiding in there, recovering. I never found time to get in there and rustle the castle about, see if he'd spook on outta there and I'd be able to net him. Tonight, I did a water change and did just that, took the castle and shook it, rustled it about, rose it up and out of the water and back in, sort of rinsing it because the BN wasn't swimming out. I did see him moving about in there, though, and he refused to come out. He even hung on with his suckermouth on the edge and refused to let go. Finally he did, though, and I rinsed it a couple more times (to make sure no other fish had swum in during the battle), and then I rose it out and put it in a bucket. As I did that, though, a little backwash produced what I immediately thought of as "OMG, is that parasite or something?" that promptly stuck to the glass. It had a pleco shape, though, and had the stripes in the tail that the BNs have. I found another one swimming in there, and as soon as I got that water change done, I took a peek in the bucket wit the castle to see if any babies had fallen out, and there was one in there (fortunately the castle had dripped water so the baby didn't suffocate in the air). So I have at least 3 babies. I don't know how long babies can stay out of air, as the castle was in the bucket for, oh, I think 5 minutes, give or take. I don't know how fast they hatch (if a few start hatching, and the rest finish hatching a day or two later) so I don't know if the air damaged any eggs. When I removed the castle, the BN started going nuts, swimming every which way, all over the tank, and now I wonder if he was anxious (I'm reading it's the male that cares for the eggs and fry). Now that the castle is back in there, he's vanished again, but I know now where he is (and BTW, his wound healed perfectly; I can't even tell he was injured).

They don't look like tadpoles (head attached to tails), they look like really itty bitty plecos, which a resemblance to Ottos (I thought maybe they were Otto babies, until I noticed the stripes in the tail). They're yellow or light orange. The guy in the bucket with the castle, I spent five minutes trying to flush him out, but he kept sticking to the bucket. Finally, me, my cup, a tilted bucket, and a gush of water won him over. I even took the time to clean the canister filter (Fluval 305), the first time I did that since I bought it a couple of months ago (I'm paranoid about the babies being sucked up, and I wanted to see if anybody had wound up in there)

I'm totally rambling, because this was so unexpected. I don't even really want babies, but now that they are here, I hope it stays at 3 or 4 so I don't feel like I'm in over my head. I guess suggestions, tips, assurances are what I'm looking for. I'm just so surprised, because I didn't think I was doing very well with the tank for the past couple of weeks (slacking off in water changes, sometimes leaving the lights on farrrrrrr too long and then leaving them off for a couple of days to compensate). Seriously, I only started learning about fish this past November, and I got started with this 60gal tank in April or May. These are my first babies, so I really have no idea what to do. Heck, I'm pro-spay/neuter in the cat and dog world! lol

 

[lilfishie]

i had the same thing happen to me, knew i had a male and female, went on holiday so left the lights off for the week or so i was away, came back and had wrigglers everywhere! they usually take around 3 days to hatch then a further 10 days to look like miniture adults, then they start to explore a little, dad will get very aggressive and i have heard cases of him killing other fish to protect his young, anyway congrats on the new arrivals

 

[snowflake311]

HA HA HA what a story. That's exciting. If I were you I would just let them be. If they live they live if they does well i am sure your fish will give it another try later.

You could try separating them putting them in the 10 Gal tank and let them grow in there away from any predators.

Good luck and enjoy. Yeah hear these little BN are not have to breed.

 

[Tacklebury]

Congrats! Now they've started you'll find they spawn every 4-6 weeks! I currently have around 80 bns in my rio240 of all sizes! I constantly catch the larger males and keep my lfs stocked with bns!!

The baby will be fine out of water. I did a tank swap in jan this year and lost a adult male bn. Coulldn't find him anywhere and when i placed a large rock i had removed probably 60 mins before he promptly swan out, alone with a clown loach! They are hardy little sods!!

Leave the male to learn how to look after his young. It will take a couple of spawns before he gets the hang of caring for them. Once he has learnt you'll end up with considerably more than 3!! I get around 30-50 each batch from around 60 eggs laid.

Good luck and enjoy!!

 

[Aussie_Dog]

Turns out I had more than 3 babies. I counted up to 7, and from what I could see, 3 were albino, and 3 were brown (I couldn't tell with one guy, since his favorite spot to suck the glass was in a dark spot. Sometimes he looked brown, sometimes he looked albino). I'm down to two now, and they look like they're going to survive (both are brown). I moved three (2 albinos, 1 brown) into the 10gal I have, and they eventually died. So just the two in the 60gal.

The BNs spawned again (I suspected it was going to happen, since the male was back to hiding in his castle all the time, in the same spot, so I just sat back and waited for the babies to appear) and I counted up to 10 this time (but that was when I lit up the lights after letting them stay dark for a day or so, and I found a surprise with babies suckin' on the glass. They've since retreated and I can only ever count up to 4 or 5 at a time). I caught an albino baby and moved him to the 10gal, and I'm trying to catch the adult female so that the spawning stops. She's wary of the net, though, and immediately retreats to her castle, where there's a small little bridge area where she fits snugly and comfortably, and I can't reach her. So I either wait to finally snag her, or I remove the castle (afraid to do that, since the male really latches on when I move it, and I'm afraid of taking it out, putting it on the floor, catching the female, then picking up the castle to put it back in the tank and finding a gasping fish on the floor underneath it. Happened once with Big Pig, a Clown Loach, after a water change. He's fine, and he's stopped trying to kill himself.)

I gotta say, it's interesting comparing the size of the new babies to one of the two older babies. I wasn't sure how much he had grown (if at all) until I had another baby to compare to him (by "him," I mean whichever of the two older ones I see closest to one of the newer ones, lol).

I want to keep an albino, of that I'm sure, and most likely I'll give the rest to the fish store. But if they die, then they die. Hate to say it, but it relieves a weight off my shoulders

I finally named the Bristlenoses (couldn't think of a good pair name until now). Sir Burton for the male, and Mrs Lovett for the female. The latter is for the Sweeney Todd musical, and Sir Burton is for Tim Burton who directed the Sweeney Todd movie (Mrs Lovett was played by his partner, Helena Bonham Carter). Sir Burton is also a sort of play off of Sir Barton, a famous racehorse from the olden times, the first Triple Crown winner. And, going with the Sweeney Todd theme (I love that movie), when I move the female (Mrs Lovett) to the 10gal, I'm going to name the albino baby that's already in there Toby. If it turns out to be a girl, I'll switch it to Nellie (which is Mrs Lovett's first name, though it wasn't mentioned in the movie, only in the broadway play). Maybe if I end up catching Sir Burton instead, I'll name the baby Anthony or Johanna. Heh, I'm such a geek. lol