Bn refusing to breed

[tahetpm]

Hi here is the story I have just 2 comon bn females, and lots of males, Ive placed the 2 females with one big male here

here is the female

and the other female

and finally the male

Ive been told that when Ancistrus get stressed they get a grey color, the male is alway grey even when he gets the red rounded mark on the head, some time ago there was another male in their tank and he was black all times
shall I change males to make this girls breed? I have been feding them on spirulina and red peppers but just changed to cucumber and peas, as you can se the femalles look all fat and filled with eggs, and they spent all day and night next to the male , trying to mate I guess, I have been doing 20% water change for fresh water daily, soft water 26.5C in tank and colder in water changes

 

[Irene0100]

they look fine. keep the group together and let them get used to each other, like bonding.
maybe add some other types of caves for choice, then keep up teh w/c and have some patience. dont change the male unless no joy after several months.

 

[graham26]

they look fine. keep the group together and let them get used to each other, like bonding.
maybe add some other types of caves for choice, then keep up teh w/c and have some patience. dont change the male unless no joy after several months.

Great advice & definitely try a tighter cave to allow male to trap & hold a female

 

[tahetpm]

cave

I will make several diferent caves since those have been together for 7 monds or more

 

[Gillmo]

I've found that it might take a few months before they are confortable with the environment. Keep them well feed and don't mess with the tank, besides water changes. I found that after a good water change the male may set up in front of a cave. Leave them alone and I wish you luck.

 

[littlebristlenose]

As above on caves just wide enought is better.
Change tank items around and do a large water change can work turn cave away from foot traffic can help with first time dads.
Place a cover or plant above the entrance can give extra protection ( i use driftwood )
If a male refuses to breed after a few weeks change for another male there usually easy to pick up i keep a spare on hand for this reason.
Water readings may help with why they may not be breeding.
Most spawns with catfish for me happen between 5.8-7.0 bn's are between 6.0-6.8. i drop ph over a couple of changes if fish are ready first let water get warmer 25-28, change up to 10- 50 percent with water atleast 4-6 cooler than tank and drop temp to 25.5 and extra filter/water movenment for other fish.

 

[Irene0100]

how are they doing?

I assume you read this?
http://plecoplanet.com/?page_id=211

 

[coca-cola]

hi mate im no expert, but to me the females look to be a bit small, whats the temp at ? as for cave's, mine just breed for the second time in the top of a ship wreck so if they want to they will, only had mine 6 weeks and breed twice now, good luck let us know how it goes, troy

 

[Irene0100]

they often start breeding before they are full adult size.
hard to tell size in photos but they look plump enough to me.
I am sure its just a matter of time and plenty of w/c

 

[littlebristlenose]

As above comments on size they can start laying eggs at a young age size being 6cm + but i let females get to 8.5 cm before putting males in two reasons.
1. Let the girl mature and that way they breed when dropped in with male straight away.
2. Small females lay sometimes a handful of eggs and a male can damage her if to strong.

Most males i use are smaller than the females, i find older bigger males start getting lazy and dont get large batchs.

 

[bigal66]

i dont do anything....the occasional water change...vary there diet..veg etc and when there ready they will breed like rabbits.

 

[tahetpm]

Hi !!

Wow those readings sound really interesting for me, I am biologist and haven’t got success yet, my ph was 8, I began to lower it with peat moss, I’ve read a paper about ancistrus published in SA that talks about water conductivity and the relationship with breeding, but after reading your experiences I think that many factors influence these fish, since of male and female, in fact I’ve read many posts and saw many pictures of breeding couples and I guess my females are too small for these males, the male is almost 1/2 bigger than the females, and cave size might be important for the breeding couple so female cant escape from male, I am sure that a fat and rounded female is filled with ovocites and her ovaries make her look rounded and a small male with bristles is sexually mature and ready to breed

 

[Irene0100]

yes -fish breeding is mainly about water!!!
good luck

 

[12evenant]

As above comments on size they can start laying eggs at a young age size being 6cm + but i let females get to 8.5 cm before putting males in two reasons.
1. Let the girl mature and that way they breed when dropped in with male straight away.
2. Small females lay sometimes a handful of eggs and a male can damage her if to strong.

Most males i use are smaller than the females, i find older bigger males start getting lazy and dont get large batchs.

that's an interesting fact, I have a 3" male and 4" female, any likelihood of action there?

 

[Irene0100]

possibly 12evenant, has the male got a good set of bristles, in which case he will be old enough to breed. (assuming you are talking common BNs or similar ratehr than white seams or statlights etc)
have you got some caves in the tank? when he is thinking about breeding he will probably claim a favorite cave as his terrirory.

 

[12evenant]

possibly 12evenant, has the male got a good set of bristles, in which case he will be old enough to breed. (assuming you are talking common BNs or similar ratehr than white seams or statlights etc)
have you got some caves in the tank? when he is thinking about breeding he will probably claim a favorite cave as his terrirory.

Hi Irene,

Yes he already has a developed set of bristles. Hope he is able to trap the humongous female! Pic as below:

 

[tahetpm]

By the way I have this couple of bn I cant identify them the male is huve more than 15 cm and female is like 15 , he spents all time in a cave and she spents all time under a log in 150l L and long tank for themselves

the male has bristles on the nose small and short but they are on the nose, and the female only small ones around the base of the nose

 

[littlebristlenose]

Wow you guys in the us have some nice fish wish the new pm would change law on im:-/ports stuck with 33 types here..!

 

[Brengun]

I much prefer one male with one female.
If you have two males in a small tank they are going to be both wanting the same territory and the best cave.
If you have two females you might end up with them fighting as to who is going to mate with the male.
The worst fight I ever witnessed was between two females in a 2ft tank with one male. They were longfin bns and they were quite evenly matched in size. After day two of constantly fighting with fins shredded on both, I separated one out of the tank and as soon as the remaining one recovered, she bred heaps.

Breeding one on one has its advantages. The eggs are laid and after a couple of days they hatch and after a week or two the fry are released by the male.
The female takes about three weeks or a little bit more to become gravid again so the male gets a bit of a week off to eat up and get strong again. This way they can perpetually breed without worrying about either fish losing condition.

 

[tahetpm]

Thanks I will take one female out, perhaps the smallest one