how long does it take do breed bristlenose, how many many do they reproduce. how long does it take for them to grow
also what if i wanna get a male and female pleco and wait till they get big then breed them, how would i tell the differnece between male and female
bristlenose pleco can breed at 3". Males will have a face an lips full of bristles, females will not, it is extremely difficult to distinguish this with plecos only 2" and under. if you can only find small ones in your area best is to buy a few and grow them out to see what you have, if they are large enough then just get a male and female (obviously) You dont need substrate in the tank. A heater and filter and your good to go. Place clay pots, or small pvc pipe into the tank. THe best way to choose what size is imagine that it has to be small enough for both plecos to fit in together, but without leaving any gaps. They like small spaces and caves to breed. The male will be the only guarding the babies so it should be about as wide as he is, he doesnt need to hae space to turn around in, he will just scoot out backwards to leave. temperature needs to be 76-78, start conditioning them by feeding meaty fod along with your spirulina flakes, wafers, and any zuchini. bloodworms, and shrimp pellets work great. After a while of this diet, start doing small cold water changes 3 times a week or so. (this makes them think the rainy season has started). You should eventually see them male cleaning an area and then eventually trying to chase the feale into his chosen cave. he will try to nudge her and then trap her in the cave kinda. They will both be in the cave for a while then the female will be the only one to exit.You can have a good idea of if they spawned or not by if the male exits the cave or not after that. IF he stays for days there are eggs in there. Try not to disturb the cave to much, but to see if he has eggs you can shine a light into the cave and you should see gold eggs at the end of the cave by his face.