I have bred cichlids for many years, but I have never kept pleco's before until recently. Any way my pair of festae is getting close to laying eggs but there is a Small pleco( less then half of the festae size) in the tank. And I am not worried that the pleco will eat the eggs, is this a real concern?
Breeding Question
- Thread starter sbrady5pts
- Start date
I agree. This is one of the main reasons why I don't keep Plecos with breeding pairs. Plecos are notorious for devouring eggs during the night. I'm sure that there are people that keep Plecos with their breeding pairs without much problems but there are plenty of others without such luck.
Yes they are. My Dovii have spawned 4 times and eggs have disappeared each time. They share the tank with a large stubborn pleco. Which is a good thing, I have no where to put a few hundred Dovii. lol
I use to keep plecos in the tanks with the breeding JD's I had. It gave them something to defend against and kicked up their paternal instincts in my opinion.
The pleco may have gotten a few of the eggs, but once some of them hatch the pleco is of no concern. If you have eggs go missing don't automatically assume the pleco got them, the parents could have eaten them as well.
The pleco may have gotten a few of the eggs, but once some of them hatch the pleco is of no concern. If you have eggs go missing don't automatically assume the pleco got them, the parents could have eaten them as well.
Well this is a little concerning to me. The female is fully displaying her oviposter and I expect eggs very soon. Should I try to remove the pleco now or do you think this will spook the festae? It is a large tank and I doubt that I will be able to get the tiny pleco quickly.
you run the risk of stiring up the tank and stressing the other fish. I would let things go this time. If they are a breeding pair, this will not be a one time deal. They will continue to spawn.
A little off topic.
I have been doing frequent cool water changes to get the festae going, but now that they seam to be fairly close to breeding should I keep doing the water changes until they lay eggs or just let them be?
I ask because I have had fish go crazy and immediately eat the eggs after a cool water change.
Right now the female seems ready to lay eggs, but the male is not displaying black bars that you normally see in breeding colors. He is tail slapping and playfully biting her but no breeding colors.
What do you think?
I have been doing frequent cool water changes to get the festae going, but now that they seam to be fairly close to breeding should I keep doing the water changes until they lay eggs or just let them be?
I ask because I have had fish go crazy and immediately eat the eggs after a cool water change.
Right now the female seems ready to lay eggs, but the male is not displaying black bars that you normally see in breeding colors. He is tail slapping and playfully biting her but no breeding colors.
What do you think?
Yeah, if they appear ready, I would leave things the way they are. Hopefully it will all work out for you.