What to do with Bristlenose Fry?

Hi Guys,

I'm just after some advice on what to do with some baby bristlenose catfish.

I bought two bristlenose cats from the local fish shop about a year ago...To my surprise one was a male and the other a female. Now I have lots of baby fry in my tank. I've had them for about a week now and the male has been protecting them the whole time (he must be getting tired he hasn't moved from his spot constantly fanning water over them lol).

Anyway they are just under an inch long, all the yoke has been used up and they are still cuddling together being protected by the male.

Where do I go from here?

I only have one tank it's a 3ft'er. I have a clown loach and electric yellow cichlid in the tank as well, along with lots of other fish but I can only see the clown loach and cichlid being a possible threat. Although they usually stay in their logs at the bottom of the tank while the fry are snuggled up in an upper corner behind some tubing.

I have a breeder net, which I can hang in the tank and put the baby bristlenose in. Would this be a good idea? Being that they are only a week old and still huddle up in the corner should i move them into a bucket with a heater or something?

Also i've read alot of posts saying i should feed them boiled lettuce/zucchini/cucumber. Is there a particular type of lettuce they need or will any do?

Anyway your advice on this would be much appreciated

the breeding net would be fine dont boil fresh veg it will be too soft and make a right old mess of your tank water you can just drop it in hot water for a minute just to blanch it make sure you give it a good wash first.

Cool, they are all in the breeding net now. Around 20+, dad didn't like giving them up or letting me near them even though they started swimming around the tank surfaces. So i used a large siphon hose and transferred them all via the hose into a bucket i regularly use to change water in the tank. Then transferred them from the bucket to the net.

They all seem happy enough in the net. I tried giving them some blanched lettuce but they are interested at the moment. Maybe it's the type of lettuce (iceburg) they dont like. So i'll grab some zucchini a bit later and try that.

Thanks for the info Deano.

I transfer my fry into an acrylic custom made fry trap with a little piece of bogwood in and fresh Courgette (Zucchi) available for them at all times and Algea wafers i do a 10% daily water change and i use a turkey baster to remove any dirt

With my fry i transfered them to a holding tank untill they grew to around 2cm, then i put them back in with the parents.

thats currently what im doing mitch....im transfering fry day by day from my large tank to my small tank using a cyphon tube.....
but i have to be quick as my male albino is currently fanning another batch....so could become very busy if i dont keep on top of it..

mitch-man wrote:

With my fry i transfered them to a holding tank untill they grew to around 2cm, then i put them back in with the parents.

dont really see the point of that to be honest why move them then put them back ?????

deano wrote:

mitch-man wrote:

With my fry i transfered them to a holding tank untill they grew to around 2cm, then i put them back in with the parents.

dont really see the point of that to be honest why move them then put them back ?????

Same here I only move eggs that have been kicked out to a fry tank