Breeding Dwarf Albino Ancistrus

[NatakuTseng]

Can anyone help me out with information on how to trigger spawning with dwarf albino ancistrus? I've done some research about it, and have a general idea, but looking for more info. If anyone can help me out I would appreciate it a lot!

Thanks,
Brian

 

[clayt101]

I did it twice, but only 1 fry survived to adulthood. I just put 1 male and 1 female together in a 20 gallon aquarium with a small cave. After a week, eggs were laid. A few days later, there were small fry. I had about 5 make it to the free swimming stage, but only 1 survived. She is now about 2 inches long and lives with her parents in my large aquarium. BTW, I have tried several other times to get them to spawn, but nothing has happened. There are lots of threads about this on the planet catfish forums.

 

[NatakuTseng]

Yeah I put a post up on the forums at planet catfish as well and got directed to a couple articles, I've read the articles, but looking more for personal experiences, like yours. That way I can connect the dots and do all the things that everyone had in common. These guys are gonna be more my little test subjects, if I can successfully spawn and raise their young, then its on to the L-46's. Thanks for your imput Clay.

 

[RTR]

Very sohisticated technique - :laugh: - sort out one male and one female, put them together (for me in a 40-long) and feed. Caves or flat rocks lying on the substrate are a big help (my males seem to prefer DIY caves, if I use pre-formed caves, I push them into the substrate such the Poppa needs to excavate a bit), but I had one spawn in large siphon tube and the adjacent glass. Fry are quite large, most starve. I move them during hang-on if possible (catch bucket, not net) to the adjacent 20-high packed with plants and Java Moss - water is the same and circulates between the tanks. My water is pH 7.5-7.8, GH ~9, KH ~7. Breeder tank heavily planted, fry tank crowded 12 hour each light/dark. ~1/3 partials weekly, except when fry are present and being fed, then 1/3 2-3x weekly. First food is green peas or Lima beans, husks removed after microwving a few seconds in water, then spirulina and commercial foods. If more than 6 fry are present, I move them or some of them to another tank fairly early, otherwise I'll let them grow in place in the 20 and let future spawns die off in the breeders' tank, or move Momma in with the babies. She does not disturb them once they are recognizable as fish. Never clean the glasses - it is food for one generation or the other.

 

[Orange]

Very sohisticated technique - :laugh: - sort out one male and one female, put them together (for me in a 40-long) and feed. Caves or flat rocks lying on the substrate are a big help (my males seem to prefer DIY caves, if I use pre-formed caves, I push them into the substrate such the Poppa needs to excavate a bit), but I had one spawn in large siphon tube and the adjacent glass. Fry are quite large, most starve. I move them during hang-on if possible (catch bucket, not net) to the adjacent 20-high packed with plants and Java Moss - water is the same and circulates between the tanks. My water is pH 7.5-7.8, GH ~9, KH ~7. Breeder tank heavily planted, fry tank crowded 12 hour each light/dark. ~1/3 partials weekly, except when fry are present and being fed, then 1/3 2-3x weekly. First food is green peas or Lima beans, husks removed after microwving a few seconds in water, then spirulina and commercial foods. If more than 6 fry are present, I move them or some of them to another tank fairly early, otherwise I'll let them grow in place in the 20 and let future spawns die off in the breeders' tank, or move Momma in with the babies. She does not disturb them once they are recognizable as fish. Never clean the glasses - it is food for one generation or the other.

Perfect!

 

[NatakuTseng]

Thank you RTR. I guess thats why there isn't too much detail about what to do to spawn them, as its not a very complicated process, I would have thought there would have been more too it. Thanks again!

 

[RTR]

Note that those are my water conditions, not a goal to match. I don't do water mods unless I absolutely have to do so. Things that breed for me are things that adapt to what I have, not thing I modify water water to breed them in. Theoretically, the bristlenose should be in softer more acid water, but they obviously do not require it. Efficient production would also need a better feeding process than I use. I only want to maintain the fish in many of my tanks as workers (they are long-lived, as are most of the family), and perhaps trade a few in sometimes. Their appearance locally is very erratic - they disappear from the market for a year or two and then come back. Almost any amelanistic/albino fish seen in numbers is obviously tank bred (the albinos naturally occuring in any numbers are countable on less than one hand), so no break-through in breeding technique is required for captive breeding.

 

[Haggisman]

With me its getting the right kind of bristlenoses, I'm so unlucky I keep trying to breed the wrong ones together :sad

 

[RTR]

There again, I am lazy. When the LFS has a new batch of bristlenose of a type I have not seen or kept before, I get 6-8 and wait for them to mature. Either they pair off on their own, or it just becomes so much easier to differentiate males from females within the group.

Then keep a couple of pairs in separate tanks, trade the others back in if not needed as cleaning crew in another tank. They are more valuable as near-adults anyway, if pair-able, they will be worth more at trade-in than the cost of the whole set initially.

 

[NatakuTseng]

I haven't ever seen these guys in any LFS, I picked them up at an auction in New Hampshire back in march, looking back on it I wish I had bid on two lots rather than just the one. They have deffinately gotten me much more interested in the Loricarids than I ever thought I would be. Before long I plan on purchasing 6 L-46's and trying my luck with them.