Okay peeps the issue is about five or six months ago I purchased two Albino Bristlenose and a Brownie bn to replace my lost B.E. Long fin albino plecostomus. I purchased three because I was kinda hoping to breed them when they became of age. As the months progressed my albinos both gained bristles and grew while the brownie has stayed small which I assume is caused by lack of space in the tank and maybe some competition for food. So while they grew I naturally did research on telling the genders apart so when they both grew bristles I asumed they were both male even though females generally grow bristles in the gill region then they both posessed the red spot on the head so I stuck to my assumptions. The other week I had to move from one home to another so this involved moving the fish and I had to capture them. I grabbed to the one with less bristles first and noticed the anus rgion was oval shaped like a female ready to bear eggs and small orbs that looked like eggs on its stomach, naturally I was pleased by this but since I've gotten settled I have been questioning whether or not the orbs were actually eggs or sand grains since nothing in the tank had changed much. Today I cleaned the tank because my filters had gone bad and I had no replacments so the water got pretty nasty, anywho ever since then the less bristled one has been acting odd. It has been all over the roof of the hollow alligator that serves as their would be nest (I have seen them fight over it in the past so I believed them both males) and the other has been in and out of the head every so often all night. At the moment all three are in the open but the question remains what is going on with my fish and what should I expect if they are opposite gender?:help:
plecostomus breeding habits??? (sorry it's so long)
- Thread starter madlysane218
- Start date
Simple answer, BN eggs are much larger than sand grains. If they've argued over the cave then they're almost certainly both males. What size tank are they in, and how is it set up?
Don't jump to any conclusions yet. While bn eggs are good sized, they are not that size until she lays them. They expand greatly due to the addition of water when they leave the female. If you have ever seen a big clutch of pleco eggs, the first hing you usually think is how did that pile fit inside that fish? Well now you know.
The behavior described could be two males fighting, but a sign of that would be some serious damage to one or both. While pleco sex gets pretty rough at time which can often the female will some injuries in the process, these tend not to approach the fatal nature of two males going at it.
Often there will be the sort of activity around the cave as you describe. I have actually watched a pair of L134 ready to spawn in which the make discovers his chosen cave was not big enough for the two of them, The dance.process that followed where the male coaxed her out of one cave and into the larger one next to it was amazing tio watch. There really is a lot that seems to go into the process.
The other evening I watched a female zebra pleco trying to entice one of the caved males to let her in. Unfortunately, none of the gents seemed willing at that time.
My point is you could be watching two males arguing or you could be seeing the mating "dances/rituals" they do.
One of the best clues that one has a dad on eggs/wigglers is he hangs at the rear of the cave and regularly does what I have come to call the "bump, bounce boogie". The dad will bounce and wag his tail. He is working to keep fresh water going over the eggs. This differs from pre-spawning action which can look similar but during which the male is hanging his tail out the front door to attract a lady. When on a spawn, the tail doesn't hang out.
Good luck with it. i hope you have one of each sex.
The behavior described could be two males fighting, but a sign of that would be some serious damage to one or both. While pleco sex gets pretty rough at time which can often the female will some injuries in the process, these tend not to approach the fatal nature of two males going at it.
Often there will be the sort of activity around the cave as you describe. I have actually watched a pair of L134 ready to spawn in which the make discovers his chosen cave was not big enough for the two of them, The dance.process that followed where the male coaxed her out of one cave and into the larger one next to it was amazing tio watch. There really is a lot that seems to go into the process.
The other evening I watched a female zebra pleco trying to entice one of the caved males to let her in. Unfortunately, none of the gents seemed willing at that time.
My point is you could be watching two males arguing or you could be seeing the mating "dances/rituals" they do.
One of the best clues that one has a dad on eggs/wigglers is he hangs at the rear of the cave and regularly does what I have come to call the "bump, bounce boogie". The dad will bounce and wag his tail. He is working to keep fresh water going over the eggs. This differs from pre-spawning action which can look similar but during which the male is hanging his tail out the front door to attract a lady. When on a spawn, the tail doesn't hang out.
Good luck with it. i hope you have one of each sex.
Just last night one of the two was doing this "bump, bounce boogie", thank you TwoTankAdmin. Your comment was more than helpful.