Will it be a fry feast

Hi All

I have a feeling my bristlenose may be guarding eggs in his house. He hasn't been out for about 2 days now which is very unusual. It is in a community tank which includes guppies/mollies etc am I right in thinking the fry are going to be dinner

I don't have a breeding tank and am very unprepared any advice would be great

Hi, awesome news!!
Can you shine a torch and see whats going on in the cave?
Is it the first time he could be a dad?

Some bristlenose do great as first time dads, others can get too eager and fan the eggs too hard causing them to fall out of the cave. If a dad is gaurding eggs, he will be very teritorial chasing off any fish that come near him (and his eggs).

Either shine a torch into the cave and look for eggs or just watch to see what he does when fish go near him (although i know you said you haven't seen him for a few days now). Just watch him.

Hope i have helped

Thanks Matt

Yeah i could just about shine a torch in I think I will have a look when I get home.

The other fish have showed a sudden interest in the entrance to his house. Have seen his a couple of times pop his head out for about a second and then fly back in.

Its his first time and mine to

Im worried because of my other fish eating the fry (if there is eggs of course). Is there anything I can do to save them? I don't have a breeding tank set up or anything like that. I expect its too late to get one as the tank wouldn't be cycled.

I saw them nets you can put in the tank, would they be any use?

Oh and sorry for all the questions

mmm those fry nets are good depending on what kind of other fish you have. i put a heap of fry in one of those nets and my angelfish and tinfoil barbs ate them through the net. babies take at least 2 weeks from being spawned till when they leave the cave. and if the dad doesnt leave them then he shouldnt let the others get to the eggs or to the wriglers. so it sounds like your safe for another week. lol. you can buy the plastic fry savers those have worked well for me. either that or invest in a fry tank even if its a small one cos once they have had babies once they wont stop. =p

Thanks zane. Im in an awkward position because im not 100% sure eggs are in there and knowing my luck ill go and get a fry tank and it would have been a fause alarm lol

Ive tried to look for eggs with a torch but can just about see him let alone eggs.

He did come about earlier for about 5 seconds before he went back in is that normal?

High Ellie, where abouts on the blue planet are you , if you live in OZ I can put you
on to a guy that makes slightly oversized acrylic breeding traps that sit in an existing tank( and he is very reliable). You mentioned you also have guppies and mollies- if that's the case you should be able to get away with a breeder net from your local AQ shop- try to get one with the finest grade net you can if possible.
J

Hi Kurosaki Im in the UK unfortunately would have one of them breeding traps for sure otherwise, sounds like exactly what im after.

I'll go the shop tomorrow after work and see what they have

Thanks

I don't have any mollies but i breed my BN's with swordtails in the tank and the fry are just fine when they come out. The male keeps them safe until they are big enough to come out and fend for themselves.

Oh good, thats good to know

What does the dad do about eating? Hasn't had food for 3 days

yeah he generally wont eat untill he is done. once one of my males raised 2 sets of fry 1 after the other before coming out to eat! mind you he came out pretty skinny.

I've had some of my more nervous plecos go a week without eating after I bought them home so its no big deal as long as they are in reasonable condition and not starved before hand.

After all that excitment it looks like a false alarm
He stayed in the cave for about 4 days in all then just came out and stayed out since. Today he has gone back in there and not come out
I dont have any new fish added or anything like that so I dont think he's scared. All very confusing

Give it a little while Ellie, if you think they are about to spawn they probably will, try a water change with some cooler water + up the diet in proteins eg ,worms and brine shrimp(just not a tonne of meaty foods- moderation)
J

Well I think this time it really is it, last night I saw her go in his cave and stay there for a while (the female has never gone into his house before, that ive seen anyway) He hasnt come out since but after reading endless things about spawning bristlenoses I think i know what might be happening

The cave he has taken residence in is one of the fake tree roots and I keep reading if there is no water flow its not good. As he is right at the bottom of the root there is no water flow whatsoever. So maybe the eggs die

Waterflow seems to be a trigger for a lot of plecos but bristlenoses are typically not fussy and will breed in stationary water. The male will fan the eggs to keep them oxygenated etc so waterflow is really not necessary for you to provide.

skippy wrote:

Waterflow seems to be a trigger for a lot of plecos but bristlenoses are typically not fussy and will breed in stationary water. The male will fan the eggs to keep them oxygenated etc so waterflow is really not necessary for you to provide.

Cool thanks skippy.

He's still hiding away, I miss him now

High Ellie, have you tried picking up the breeding cave and having a peek with a torch to see if have a batch of orange/goldie coloured eggs?
It shouldn't bother him to much if your quick.
J

Kurosaki J wrote:

High Ellie, have you tried picking up the breeding cave and having a peek with a torch to see if have a batch of orange/goldie coloured eggs?
It shouldn't bother him to much if your quick.
J

yeah i had a look with a torch I can see him flapping his fins like mad, im guessing the eggs are underneath.

Wahoo I see babies

Ah Congrats on your new bubs
I told you that your fish would have another go at spawning, now comes the fun part - finding more tank space to keep the buggers.
J

well done....lets see some pic's