How to breed plecos?

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well i guess thats what i was leading up to the easiest type to start breeding with, and i guess its the BN do you happen to hae a link to show the things to look out for like behavior and sexing size?
 
sexing is easy, the males are darker, larger, and have huge, ugly (IMO) bristles. the females are about an inch shorter, lack the huge bristles, and are lighter usually. I think they just breed whenever you put a male and a female together, no special trigger. like I said, I think that's how you do it.
 
males get around 5-6", females usually top out at 4. you could try breeding them in a 30G. I think you put the male in first so he can establish a territory, them add a female, have them spawn, take the female out and let the male guard the egss and resulting wigglers. once they are free swimming, more the fry to a growout tank. I haven't actually spawned them, but this is what i've read. ask davo or wildfya.
 
fishcatch22;602581; said:
sexing is easy, the males are darker, larger, and have huge, ugly (IMO) bristles. the females are about an inch shorter, lack the huge bristles, and are lighter usually. I think they just breed whenever you put a male and a female together, no special trigger. like I said, I think that's how you do it.
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yes and no. a few basic facts (of a genus including 55+ species) that are not always true. in many species males and females grow to the same size, and in some cases bigger. also, in some species like the commonly found ancistrus claro, females have a darker base colouration, so that bit of information isn't always correct (which it isn't for many species).

But of course the "easiest" way is by looking at the bristles which is where they get their name from. I have put easiest in inverted commars, just because still some people get it wrong. This is because in some species, the bristles are found on both male and females, but on females the bristles are usually just around the "lip" or head edge of the pleco and will generally not have as many as a male does. Males have the bristles all over the top of the head too, which if females have, is far smaller and to a much lesser extent. Some adult females can look like sub-adult males.
Basically, it is best to buy the bristlenose at the same time for two good reasons (although i would advise against breeding related fish):
1) because there are so many species and now cross species, and so many of them looking incredibly similar to the eye, you have a much greater chance of purching fish of the same species and
2) because you can look at the same fish of the age and size, and it should be apparent which fish has the greatest amount of sized bristles.

heres a link to a bunch of ancistrus species, just click on picture http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/genus.php?genus_id=4#49

im debating to try and breed ancistrus dolichopterus, just because i have some good water conditions for them (black water type conditions), and they are my favourite ancistrus.
 
Mosdefenate;602600; said:
alright but would leavivng hte male and female in the same tank with fry also ork?
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yes, because the male looks after the fry. once they lay eggs, the male will fan the eggs to create maximum water flow to help prevent fungus growth on the eggs, and to keep a good oxygen supply. the male will also guard the fry and try to confine them to the cave (which you will need as a spawning site). Bristlenose are excellent parents and its fascinating watching all this i can tell you.
 
davo;602609; said:
yes and no. a few basic facts (of a genus including 55+ species) that are not always true. in many species males and females grow to the same size, and in some cases bigger. also, in some species like the commonly found ancistrus claro, females have a darker base colouration, so that bit of information isn't always correct (which it isn't for many species). But of course the "easiest" way is by looking at the bristles which is where they get their name from. I have put easiest in inverted commars, just because still some people get it wrong. This is because in some species, the bristles are found on both male and females, but on females the bristles are usually just around the "lip" or head edge of the pleco and will generally not have as many as a male does. Males have the bristles all over the top of the head too, which if females have, is far smaller and to a much lesser extent. Some adult females can look like sub-adult males. Basically, it is best to buy the bristlenose at the same time for two good reasons (although i would advise against breeding related fish):
1) because there are so many species and now cross species, and so many of them looking incredibly similar to the eye, you have a much greater chance of purching fish of the same species and
2) because you can look at the same fish of the age and size, and it should be apparent which fish has the greatest amount of sized bristles.

heres a link to a bunch of ancistrus species, just click on picture http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/genus.php?genus_id=4#49

im debating to try and breed ancistrus dolichopterus, just because i have some good water conditions for them, and they are my favourite ancistrus.
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Like I said, I didn't know for sure, I was just telling him info i've gotten off some Ancistrus websites. females being smaller than males is just IMHE, all the adult females I have seen have been smaller than the adult males. I might try breeding them myself, but i'd need a new tank...
 
 
fishcatch22;602627; said:
Like I said, I didn't know for sure, I was just telling him info i've gotten off some Ancistrus websites. I might try breeding them myself, but i'd need a new tank...
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i have found them to make very satisfying breeding projects, that can be as simple or as complicated as you like, and a lot to choose from
 
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