Ready to breed bristlenose? UPDATE

Hello

I have just set up a new tank for breeding a bristlenoses! . Im just wondering if I have done it right and if theres anything I can improve on. I have a 10 gallon tank (I know its a little small but i'm hoping its big enough), a heater, a thin layer of crushed coral on the bottom. I am going to get a sponge filter tomorrow but what would you recommend? I am going to put a short piece of PVC pipe in for breeding in, some driftwood, and make a couple more caves out of rocks.

I will then add a pair of BNs that I know have bred before. I will do daily water changes of 20% cold water to try and replicate the water season (as this is when they breed in the wild?) and feed them algae pellets.

Is there anything I need to do or I can improve on? Except the tank, that will have to do for now.

Any help is appreciated thanks

Adam.

Hi Adam, I'm imagining your tank is between 18"-24" in length it should be OK for a pair of BN's but when they do breed you would need a grow on tank for the fry as they will grow quickly and cause overcrowding problems.

Why have you added the crushed coral, do you have pH problems? If your adding it just for decoration then it would be better to remove it as it will raise your pH and make the water harder.

You will need to give them a more varied diet than algae pellets, there is a list HERE of foods that are suitable for BN's.

Give them some time to settle in before trying to breed them.

hey jim thanks for your reply.

how big a tank will I need for growing? i put coral in because I heard it helps stablise the PH? last time i checked my PH was just under 7, 6.8 or something?

As for letting them settle in should I just put them in and leave them for one or two weeks and do nothing? Then start doing my 20% water changes?

again thanks for the reply

Adam

The larger the grow out tank the faster the fry should grow. Three foot and upwards is a good size but some people do use several smaller tanks.

Your pH at 6.8 is fine, if that is without the crushed coral then don't use it, if it is with the coral then leave it in.

I would leave triggering a spawn for about 4 weeks, saying that BN's will often spawn without a trigger, you can use this time to condition the fish.

If you want more information about triggering a spawn there is a post by Curby HERE as there is slightly more to it than water changes.

get rid of that coral, it will make your water harder and more basic. This will stop breeding. the pH will be lower now cos of the new wood in the tank but as the wood settles it will slow its release of acids and the pH will rise.

I would give them at lease a month beofre you begin to trigger the spawns.

I would also add in a power filter, the flow of water is helpful in triggering a spawn and the extra filtration is always healthy.

also, make sure the tank is cycled before you add the fish.

thanks for your replys guys.

new update i now have a 3 foot tank that i am going to set up tomorrow and cycle for a week, got some gravel of a mate (black so hard to see them but looking for white stuff.....) and got the 2 healthy looking fish! Once i have put them in my 3 foot i will leave them for a month and see if they self spawn if not i guess its triggering time!

With the power filter do i need to add that for a trigger or now?

Again thanks for your help, will be visiting this site a lot more that i've found it and registered. I must say its great!!

Adam

You need the power filter ASAP and when selecting one you will need on that turns the water over 6-8 times an hour.

i.e for a 20 gallon tank you need a 120-160 gph filter.

Another option is to have two slightly smaller filters, by having two devises the risk of one failing is minimised.

The power filter is because BN's produce a lot of waste and the filtration has to be able to handle it. It also produces a current of water that BN's prefer.

indeed, in a 3 foot tank you need to have more than a sponge filter. Sponge filters can filter between 50-100ltrs of water depending on various things. most are towards the 50l/h end of the range. this is no where near enough. in a 3ft tank (normally about 150ltrs) you need aty least 600l/h filtration. if you are planning to have the babies in the tank as well you will want to have even more up to about 800l/h.

i have put a large power filter in the tank with them now. do i need to remove this once the eggs have been laid? Ive heard people say that it can suck up the fry?

Adam

Just cover the intake with something that will stop them getting sucked up. Removing it may cause the tank to spike in ammonia which is very bad for baby fry

Ok i will look for a sponge or something to cover it when i next go to the fish shop. Thanks for all your help guys very much appreciated

Adam.