Bristlenose eggs, what do i do now

[LEG-IT]

hi,
so recently i purchased a colony of breeding bristlenose of fellow member jackos80,
he was very generous to me and gave me his colony and extras, which i cannot thank jack enough

well anyways the female was very plumpt and recently i noticed the male let her enter the cave they were in the cave for 1 hour or so before she left,
she was very skinny when she left so i assumed they layed which was very exciting for me,
i was than told since it was a glass bottom cave to check if the was eggs so i lifted it up and all the was is sand put behind the sand was probaly around 50 or so eggs maybe more i didnt really see as one egg fell out so i quilky placed the cave down to catch it,
IT was a wriggler still with the egg sac so i placd him on the entrance of the cave which dad happily accepted him back and swiftly moved his tail to flick him back,

so now i am wondering how do i raise the wrigglers, what to feed and when do i seperate them as they are in a community earth eater tank, also how often should i change the water of the tank? i am afraid as the cave had some sand in their that the sand covered the eggs and they might of died us this possible,

Many of you's may have bred these guys before but this is my first time and i am very excited

please tell me some advice

 

[Irene0100]

well done -male will clean any sand off eggs
do small water changes most days at same temp as tank. gently.
put same food as adults really, put in veg every day.

 

[MIX02u]

Congrats mate. BN fry are easy to look after - like Irene said, they eat the same as the adults. Just make sure they have access to veg all the time.
If you have a bare bottom tank it may be wise to invest in a fry saver as this helps keep the sensitive fry away from the bacteria that builds up on the bottom of glass tanks.

 

[LEG-IT]

hi thanks for all your replies and help

i currently have a fry save in my tank around 12cm by 8cm
is that a good size for them,
there is also a 2 foot for them to grow up in,
But when do i take them out of the tank and put them in the fry saver as i have geophagus in the tank and i'm afraid when they are free swimming they will eat them

I have been told to feed them brine shrimp is this true,
should i chuck in a zuchini everyday now as they eat it within 9 hours i have a colony of 8 an some extra longfin i had previously, hopefully the longfins breed

once again thanks for you help irene and mixo2u

cheers

 

[MIX02u]

For the fry - zuchini yes, brine shrimp NO. Keep protein away from fry as it will block them up and kill them. Also be mindful of the amount of protein you feed adults - some is good to help condition for spawning, too much will bloat them.

Your current saver will hold your this batch but I would look at getting a bigger one down the track. I would advise to remove the fry from the cave just as their egg sacks have been used up - around day 6 after hatching. This will stop your geophagus making a snack of any that decide to leave the cave. Also, if your saver is the mesh type, be careful that the geo's dont suck the fry through the mesh. DO NOT move your fry to another tank until they are at least 4 weeks old as they are very succeptible to changes in water conditions

One last thing - you are going to need a bigger grow out tank than a 2ft. Once they start breeding BN's dont stop. You will be overrun before you know it

Good luck

 

[Irene0100]

I agree, appart from growing fry will need small amounts of protein to grow. flake foos is fine, but the geos will eat all the food so will need to put the young in fry saver and then move to 2 ft which you can do 50% w/c and add water from adults tank.
how big are the geos? I had some redheads and they did not eat plec fry (think they are thick skinned) or evebn my guppy fry but did eat small cories! - so dont panic if a few escape into the tank, they will hide under wood etc. and feed when its dark.

 

[LEG-IT]

thanks for all your replies,
the geos range from 4.5cm-9cm only rio brancos and orange heads
its a mariner fry saver so full acylic with 0.5mm lines so the water can drain through, also how often do i do water changes now
so i was cleaning the tank a couple of hours ago and i find a cluster of what looked like hatched egg sacs, i saw some get suck into the filter,
its like a cluster maybe 20+ but every egg shape is opened is it the egg shell?
im only new to this so i am wondering, or did all the babies get eaten, and the male is still fanning when do i have a look again?


once again thank you irene and mixo2u

 

[LEG-IT]

hi here is the tank
so i took a video if thats okay, don't be afraid to click on the link, its imageshacks video website, it might not load the first time and these things come up at the end of the link like 80%80 or something just delete it and enter again

again sorry for the quality i am no expert on cameras i got my brother to upload the video and put that song on (i didn't want the song one) the camera itself and take pretty good quality pictures but my brothers don't want to take

http://yfrog.com/0veraaabroz (by the way i didn't name it overaabroz brother did as he uploaded and edit )

enjoy

 

[MIX02u]

Water changes depend on the size of your tank. For a small tank, daily 10% changes are good. A larger tank will b able to handle any fluctuating conditions better so WC's aren't as critical.
What size is your main tank?
Also thos eggs shells you found are most probably exactly that. Your male will kick them out once most of the fry have hatched. He will still fan even when he has a cave full of wrigglers.
BTW - all your fish are big enough to make snacks out of BN fry. Best move them into the saver asap

 

[LEG-IT]

hi,
so did the eggs get eaten? oh crap

its a 3 foot tank

thanks for your reply once again

 

[MIX02u]

hi,
so did the eggs get eaten?

Doubt it. When they hatch they leave the shell behind. I've had males kick out a stack of shells with one or two viable eggs still remaining. They do it to ensure the newborns have the best water quality in the cave.

 

[LEG-IT]

hi,
so should i take them out tommorow as that will be probaly the 5th or 6th day
thanks for all your advice, do i need a powerhead in my fry saver

cheers

 

[Irene0100]

they will stay with dad for a few more days yet, but will be harder to get out of cave then. (cos once egg sack partly absorbed they can suck on cave wall so they stick in there)
unless cave can go in the fry saver, you might like to maybe wait one more day and then tip the wrigglers out of cave into fry saver.
if cave will fit in fry saver then I would move it all in in a couple of days or so.
nice video BTW.

 

[MIX02u]

they will stay with dad for a few more days yet, but will be harder to get out of cave then. (cos once egg sack partly absorbed they can suck on cave wall so they stick in there)
unless cave can go in the fry saver, you might like to maybe wait one more day and then tip the wrigglers out of cave into fry saver.
if cave will fit in fry saver then I would move it all in in a couple of days or so.
nice video BTW.

+1 :thumbup:

 

[LEG-IT]

thanks guys,
i will all your advices,
mic (mixo2u) i will be your fry saver soon

cheers

 

[MIX02u]

No worries mate. I'm always making some.
Best of luck with your fry

 

[foti]

congrats on the spawn
i tend to leave the fry in the tank till all egg sack is gone/eaten and they have started eating zuchinni then i move them.

but in your case i would movie them as soon as they hatch it is very easy at that stage just feel your 2 foot with same water from your tank then take out the hole cave with your male place it in your 2 foot and then when they are all out i would take the cave out the male would be in there but no fry!

i like to feed my fry lettuce for the first 2 weeks with zuchinni every other day and nls cichlid for protein then i start feeding peas garlic brime shrimp as they get older tomato as a treat (i think they like it because it is so soft)

 

[foti]

also with water change try do it every second day till they get old enough to produce alot more waste then do it every day

i would not say do 20-50% but more like what ever it takes to clean the bottom of old food and poo! "be very carefull not to suck up fry!"

i really like your tank
Foti

 

[LEG-IT]

hi,
thanks guys once again for all your advice and compliments,

@foti i was told not to move the cave into the 2 foot yet and to wait for 4 weeks in the fry save before i put them in the 2 foot,

now another female who is plumpt is always after the male :wb: and hes the one thats in the cave with the eggs, guess i'll buy a new cave then

 

[LEG-IT]

hi guys,
i'm gonna do a water change in a hour or so,
but should i take them out now or can i have a look as in left the cave up, as its got a glass bottom base

cheers