Greetings,
I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has already been asked and answered before. I have been breeding fish for over 45 years (mostly South American Cichlids) and this is my first experience with trying to breed Plecos.
A fellow breeder was moving and had to get rid of all of his fish. I bought a group of eight L66 King Tiger Plecos. They are housed in a bare-bottom 33 gallon long tank (48"x12"x12"). In contains a large amount of slate, 8 terra-cotta breeding tubes, and 2 large pieces of driftwood. Water temp. is maintained at 83 degrees (F) the water hardness is 188 (TDS Meter) and the pH is 7.2-7.6). The tank is kept pretty dark; the back is painted, the top is covered with a piece of styrofoam, and the tank only receives indirect lighting from the rest of the fish room. There are 2 large sponge filters in the tank; one is air powered and the other is attached to a power head to provide lots of current.
Anyway, after several months went by, one pair finally spawned. The dad performed his duties with extreme diligence, and about 14 days after spawning, the first of about 14 fry emerged from the cave. The problem is that one by one, they started dying off. I'm not sure they were eating at all. For food, I had finely ground flake food, small Spectrum Pellets, and added newly hatched brine shrimp 3 times a day. By the end of the first week, all 14 had died.
Two weeks later, the pair spawned again. This time, on day 13, I moved the cave, male, fry, and all, into a 2 1/2 gallon bare-bottom aquarium. Again, water temp 83 degrees, and a well-seasoned sponge filter, and I'm doing a 50% water change every day to make sure uneaten food doesn't spoil. The next day, the fry began to emerge from the cave. When all the fry had left, I moved the male and cave back into the breeding tank, leaving just the fry. Again, I have been feeding them a small amount of finely crushed flake food and live, newly hatched brine shrimp, but I'm having the same result. The fry began coming out last Friday, and this morning, there are only two left alive.
As I said, I'm new to Plecos, so I'm sure it's something I must be (or not be) doing. The pair spawned again last night, and I don't want to be responsible for killing these guys as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mark
I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has already been asked and answered before. I have been breeding fish for over 45 years (mostly South American Cichlids) and this is my first experience with trying to breed Plecos.
A fellow breeder was moving and had to get rid of all of his fish. I bought a group of eight L66 King Tiger Plecos. They are housed in a bare-bottom 33 gallon long tank (48"x12"x12"). In contains a large amount of slate, 8 terra-cotta breeding tubes, and 2 large pieces of driftwood. Water temp. is maintained at 83 degrees (F) the water hardness is 188 (TDS Meter) and the pH is 7.2-7.6). The tank is kept pretty dark; the back is painted, the top is covered with a piece of styrofoam, and the tank only receives indirect lighting from the rest of the fish room. There are 2 large sponge filters in the tank; one is air powered and the other is attached to a power head to provide lots of current.
Anyway, after several months went by, one pair finally spawned. The dad performed his duties with extreme diligence, and about 14 days after spawning, the first of about 14 fry emerged from the cave. The problem is that one by one, they started dying off. I'm not sure they were eating at all. For food, I had finely ground flake food, small Spectrum Pellets, and added newly hatched brine shrimp 3 times a day. By the end of the first week, all 14 had died.
Two weeks later, the pair spawned again. This time, on day 13, I moved the cave, male, fry, and all, into a 2 1/2 gallon bare-bottom aquarium. Again, water temp 83 degrees, and a well-seasoned sponge filter, and I'm doing a 50% water change every day to make sure uneaten food doesn't spoil. The next day, the fry began to emerge from the cave. When all the fry had left, I moved the male and cave back into the breeding tank, leaving just the fry. Again, I have been feeding them a small amount of finely crushed flake food and live, newly hatched brine shrimp, but I'm having the same result. The fry began coming out last Friday, and this morning, there are only two left alive.
As I said, I'm new to Plecos, so I'm sure it's something I must be (or not be) doing. The pair spawned again last night, and I don't want to be responsible for killing these guys as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mark
