Monday, January 24, 2011
No News is Good News
Not a lot to report today. They have been keeping away from each other for the most part. I've added an air stone to the tank and I plan on doing at least a 50% water change today. The pots have also been added to the tank, so should they decide to spawn there are 4 different places for them to choose. My Keyhole Cichlid is certainly enjoying them! I was worried that they may not be able to fit through the holes, but he's much bigger than they are and he has no trouble, so this is good news. We are also expecting 6 new plants in the mail, and I've started up a fairy shrimp culture. Tomorrow I will try to get more pics of the lovely couple and their tank.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Moment of Truth!
Last night I moved SL to the 20g with Ms. Pleco. Normally I would wait the entire 3 week QT period before introducing new fish to established fish, but I've had to juggle a few fish between these tanks already, so it doesn't really matter at this point. For the first hour or so, SL just hid in a corner of the tank. Then he got a whiff of some Algae Wafers and swam under the driftwood. This is when he first set his eyes on Ms. Pleco. Naturally upon seeing a beauty like her, he cautiously swam over. And she ran away to hide in a pot! They played chase for a little while, then they both settled under the driftwood for the night. This morning SL was cleaning the pots and Ms. Pleco was cleaning the glass. At least no fights have broken out! I will keep you updated on their progress.
Friday, January 21, 2011
New Pots!
My mom went to the hardware store yesterday and I asked her if she could pick me up some pots for my fish tank. Well she did, and I think they will be the perfect breeding caves.
As you can see from the second picture, the hole in the bottom is around an inch, so that should be big enough for the parents to swim in and out if I put them in the tank upside down. Tomorrow we're going to lowe's to look at other options just in case these don't work out.
I also have some pictures from today of both plecos:
That's a clearer shot of mom, who I'm nearly 100% sure is mom. She's wider than SL and no bristles yet. Though I've read that they can wait til they're over 3" to get them, I'm optimistic. I haven't caught her eating yet though, and until I do I'm not moving SL to her tank. Also, no name yet! The bf bought her, so he gets the honors.
On to some recent pics of Samurai Lapin himself.
The second picture is actually from a few weeks ago and he's grown some since then, but it's a nice pic so I had to include it.
As you can see from the second picture, the hole in the bottom is around an inch, so that should be big enough for the parents to swim in and out if I put them in the tank upside down. Tomorrow we're going to lowe's to look at other options just in case these don't work out.
I also have some pictures from today of both plecos:
That's a clearer shot of mom, who I'm nearly 100% sure is mom. She's wider than SL and no bristles yet. Though I've read that they can wait til they're over 3" to get them, I'm optimistic. I haven't caught her eating yet though, and until I do I'm not moving SL to her tank. Also, no name yet! The bf bought her, so he gets the honors.
On to some recent pics of Samurai Lapin himself.
The second picture is actually from a few weeks ago and he's grown some since then, but it's a nice pic so I had to include it.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Parents to Be
Can't have a breeding program without parents! We'll start with my male:
This picture was from when I first got him, around 3 months ago. He was 2" then and he as of 2 weeks ago he is 2.5". I'll measure him again next time I see him on the glass. Samurai Lapin, as I call him, is from PetSmart. He is the second Bristlenose Pleco I've owned. When he's done eating I'll take some new pictures. His bristles are a good size and they are starting to branch off into secondary bristles.
The female:
She's a new addition, we've had her for under a week. My boyfriend bought her at Lovely Pets in Quincy, MA. I haven't been able to measure her yet, but she's bigger than SL, probably around 3". When she gets brave enough to venture out from under the driftwood I should be able to get a good measurement. Now, I am not yet 100% positive that this is a female, but SL got his bristles when he was much smaller than she is, and so far there are no nubs. Fingers crossed!
Once it is determined that she's a female, I'm going to introduce my male to her tank.
Vanilla
This picture was from when I first got him, around 3 months ago. He was 2" then and he as of 2 weeks ago he is 2.5". I'll measure him again next time I see him on the glass. Samurai Lapin, as I call him, is from PetSmart. He is the second Bristlenose Pleco I've owned. When he's done eating I'll take some new pictures. His bristles are a good size and they are starting to branch off into secondary bristles.
The female:
She's a new addition, we've had her for under a week. My boyfriend bought her at Lovely Pets in Quincy, MA. I haven't been able to measure her yet, but she's bigger than SL, probably around 3". When she gets brave enough to venture out from under the driftwood I should be able to get a good measurement. Now, I am not yet 100% positive that this is a female, but SL got his bristles when he was much smaller than she is, and so far there are no nubs. Fingers crossed!
Once it is determined that she's a female, I'm going to introduce my male to her tank.
Vanilla
It Begins
Vanilla here with a new blog. I'm finally going to be breeding Bristlenose Plecos and I've decided to capture the process in a blog. There will be pictures, there may be videos, and there will certainly be lots of information! I am completely new at breeding plecos, but not keeping them. They are def. one of my favorite plecos, so this is going to be a fun time for all hopefully.
To start off, here is my setup.
It's a lightly planted 20g long with 2 Blue Rams, 1 Keyhole Cichlid, 1 Honey Gourami and my (hopefully) female albino BN. We have some more plants on the way and I'll be building a breeding cave over the weekend.
More on the parents next entry.
Vanilla
To start off, here is my setup.
It's a lightly planted 20g long with 2 Blue Rams, 1 Keyhole Cichlid, 1 Honey Gourami and my (hopefully) female albino BN. We have some more plants on the way and I'll be building a breeding cave over the weekend.
More on the parents next entry.
Vanilla
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