breeding groups of BN plecos

Sploke

Sploke

resident boozehound
Staff member
Oct 20, 2005
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South Windsor, CT
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Matt
Alright I'm almost all set to start trying to breed my BN. I have a question about groups - I have I think 3 of each gender, what kind of group would I do best to put together? Should I just leave all 6 of them together, or choose 1 male and 2 females to move in together, or what?
 
Well, I can leave them in the 55 where they are now, or move a smaller group of them to a 10, or to a 20H, or into a 30 thats on the same system as the 55.
 
Hi Matt,
I would think the perfect group would be 1M, 2F. I only had 1M, 1F in a 29G and they can have 75-100 fry from one spawn and spawn again around 5 weeks later. My 29G quickly seemed to be too small! I eventually moved everyone into a 55G. I would not put more than one breeding group in a tank. BN males have been known to kill other males when spawning. I personally don't think there's enough room to keep them apart. The males are fiercely protective of the eggs/newly hatched fry. My male would seriously tail slap any other kind of fish that wandered by his cave while he was guarding. The cories eventually learned to stay away. He killed some black neon tetras when the lights went out. Best to use a cave with only one entrance too.
 
I have all 6 in a 55 right now, there's a lot of driftwood but no real caves so I haven't seen any kind of spawning activity, but I haven't seen any aggression. I guess I'll pull out the largest male and 2 largest females and try them together. I have a few different options for growout as well.
 
If you're intersted in a BN cave, let me know. I have one plain clay cave or maybe two, from Rosenthal pottery. And I have one a bit bigger with the top covered with java fern.
 
If they were mine, I'd leave them in the 55 gallon with no other fish and give them a cave of the right shape and size. A male and 3 female bristlenose can rapidly overfill a 55 gallon tank to the point you'll have to do a couple water changes a week. If you're trying to raise enough fish to sell to pay for something, this is by far the fastest way to accomplish it. With at least two females spawning with the male any time he was ready, I've had huge spawns. The one I counted had 204 fry from a single spawn. If you can raise 2/3 of those you'll be doing good. Good luck!

Barbie
 
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