Struggling to breed L333's

[scobie140]

I've amassed 9 L333's over the last 3 years, They are now all of a decent size.
External and internal filters for decent flow - Might upgrade to another bigger external in place of the internal
Tank temp is 29C and ph 6.5ish
Diet of; Krill pellets, Hakari carnivore pellets, New Life Spectrum
H2O Stable Wafers, Frozen blood worm, Frozen myasis shrimp and occasional algae wafer.
Water changes, tried a few routines with no joy;
20% every few days
25% every week
25% every fortnight
50% to drop the temp a good bit

Anyone got any suggestions on anything else I could try or change before I give up and put them in a community tank?

Cheers

 

[Nat's Fish]

What sort of ratio of sexes do you have?

 

[scobie140]

I had my original 7 sexed about a year ago, 3 were def females. I lost one L333 when I had a filter pack up on me and since then I've acquired 3 more but they were only about 3" so couldn't sex them, they're possibly still to young to breed the know. By the law of averages I should have a mix.....hopefully. Sorry that wasn't much help but without stripping the tank down and stressing them out trying to catch them I can't have another bash at sexing them the now

 

[Nat's Fish]

No worries. I've never kept L333's but have L066 that breed constantly
In one tank I had no luck with 4 huge fat females (12-13cm) and two males (one 13cm, one 10cm) until the larger male died. The smaller male instantly became a champion breeder
If your tank is too male heavy they may spend too much time squabbling at night rather than breeding. As you said they may be too young but it may be worth having a closer look at what you have. Sometimes removing them, giving the tank a good clean under caves, wood etc and re-arranging things triggers my fish to breed anyway

 

[scobie140]

Re shuffled some of the caves and started new feeding and water regime so will see how it goes

 

[scobie140]

Well had a result whilst I was away at work for a fortnight but only one that i can see has survived and a few dead ones appeared every other day the wife said.the survivor is about 15mm in length. Not sure what triggered it as it's been a busy time for me so had gave up on trying to breed them or stick to any routines for the last month or so. Hopefully it will be the start of some productive breeding. Not sure on what cave/tube/wood/pot the action took place in either!

 

[Bigjohnnofish]

i rate 333's easier to breed than peppermint b/n.... if ya cant breed these then there's not much hope... KISS theory - keep it simple stupid.... both sexes , caves , water and food.... and they do the rest

 

[leisure_man]

L333 is one of the easiest Hypancistrus to breed regardless of WC or tank raised. If they are not breeding, chances are they are not mature enough or the tank is too small (crowded) for them. Once they starts breeding, it will continue to do so with ease. They will take a breather from breeding activity from time to time, but with good food and water change, I don't see why they would not continue to breed. As for fry dying, it could be an issue with insufficient food.

 

[scobie140]

Result!
Gave up on them and they did it all on there own while i was offshore.
Just need to set up a grow out tank next time i'm back onshore since i never managed last time back. Counted 11+ one night but they always scatter and hide.
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One of the older ones who thought he was hidden, still young though as its only about 3.5"
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Not sure on who the breeding pair was or what triggered them off but hopefully it happens again.