This is not a guide on how to breed this wonderful species but how I did it and my experience while doing it….
Minimum tank size – 60ltrs for a pair+30ltr for every additional plec
PH around 6.8-7.2, PH maintained by me was 7
Temperature – 23-27 degree's Celcius..., I maintained it at around 25
Identifying sex - Males are larger in size and have bristles running up their nose/snout and around their lips, while female's only have bristle's around their lips… The ideal ratio is 1 male to 2 females. I already had a male and was searching for a female since a long time and fortunately Tarun, who had a few, was generous enough to hand me 2 females…
Bristlenose are cave spawners so providing a cave is a must. Cave size will depend on the size of your plec, home made caves such as plant pots cut in half, PVC pipes, slate caves will do the job. A cave should be big enough for the male to fit in as he will take care of the eggs and the fries and also for the female to come and lay them…
Breeding them is not so hard, the spawning process might take place by itself without you doing anything and sometimes it may take a lot of effort like regular water changes and feeding to hit the spot…. I had done quite a few water changes dropping the temperature by 2-3 degrees to induce the spawning process and it worked…
Spawning rituals…
Female going inside the pot to lay eggs…
It usually takes a few hours for the female to lay eggs but the whole spawning process can go up to 2 days…..
The eggs…
The eggs were laid outside the pot as the female was quite large to fit in the pot so had to remove the eggs to protect them from being eaten by other fish…
It is the job of the male to watch the eggs and the fries but unfortunately as the eggs were laid outside I had to take them out and act as the father ensuring that they don’t catch any fungus…
The eggs hatch within 4-5 days
Fries…
After a few days
. after so many success we cannot deny this.
