A friend of mine has shown interest in breeding gold nugget plecos. Does any one have any info on sexing/breeding, or know of a good place to get such information?? TIA.
"J"
"J"
Breeding Gold Nuggets???
- Thread starter rift-n-reef
- Start date
I think it's been done though it's not easy I suspect. I recently saw a quote though that NO baryancistrus had been bred in captivity but I am sure I've heard reports. I think you need a pretty high water flow, warm, soft, slightly acid water, very well oxygenated. The only comment I have heard on this subject was something along the lines of 'bred in a flowerpot cave, when a powerhead was pointing right at the spawning spot.
I would imagine it is possible, and as I think nuggets are my favourite plec, am thinking about trying it myself. I think you'll need the above, in a large though not enormous tank, no other fish to pinch food, and feed a lot of shrimp, bloodworms and other meaty goodies. You'll also need patience as I'm sure these things need a few years to grow and mature. Once you've got a few I'm sure sexing will be obvious by vent shape.
Ask on planetcatfish forum boards, and good luck. A trip to the biotope would help, as would internet searches (repeated on different enines) on the words baryancistrus breeding in english and german.
Get some combat experience with other plecs first, obviously.
I would imagine it is possible, and as I think nuggets are my favourite plec, am thinking about trying it myself. I think you'll need the above, in a large though not enormous tank, no other fish to pinch food, and feed a lot of shrimp, bloodworms and other meaty goodies. You'll also need patience as I'm sure these things need a few years to grow and mature. Once you've got a few I'm sure sexing will be obvious by vent shape.
Ask on planetcatfish forum boards, and good luck. A trip to the biotope would help, as would internet searches (repeated on different enines) on the words baryancistrus breeding in english and german.
Get some combat experience with other plecs first, obviously.
I'm sure it is not easy, although it has been done. First, sexing them is difficult at best. At times, they can be very territorial to their own kind, even to the point of killing. It would take a good size tank.
I barely saw my gold nuggets eating as it was, I imagine that you would have to find a diet they liked enough to properly condition them to breed. My bristlenose don't breed on algae wafers alone, but as soon as you start feeding them frozen bloodworms every night they will breed. My gold nuggets didn't seem to eat up the bloodworms like the bristlenose do. So find something that the gold nuggets would like and feed them a ton (within reason of course) and change water a lot.
Thanks a bunch for the input. I will pass your thoughs along. Perhaps he my want to aim a bit lower on the pleco chain. 
"J"
"J"
One of the guy in Plecofanatic have manage to get his L177 to spawn. You might want to find out more from him.
The addy is http://plecofanatics.iboardplus.com/
The addy is http://plecofanatics.iboardplus.com/
