Should I pull Plecos eggs? Best practice?

[Tedrock]

Howdy Nerms!

I am just wondering.  I have several Bristlenose plecos sitting on eggs.  What is the best practice? Should I leave them with the male or pull them to hatch them in an egg tumbler?  I am very successful using the ziss egg tumbler with pleco eggs in the past.

Many thanks, Ted K

[Levi_Aquatics]

I have bred Bristlenose a few times and I always let the eggs hatch in the cave then transferred the fry to a grow out aquarium and put the male back in the display aquarium. 

[StevesFishTanks]

I only use the tumbler if the male kicks the eggs out of the cave.  It works great to save them.

With most batches I move the father and the eggs in the cave to a growout tank. I let him raise them to just before they swim out of the cave then dump them in the ziss breeder box.

My group is female heavy and my male will raise 2 batches at a time, I let him recover in the growout tank for a few days before adding him back with all the females.  

[Crabby]

On 1/5/2022 at 4:18 AM, Levi_Aquatics said:

I have bred Bristlenose a few times and I always let the eggs hatch in the cave then transferred the fry to a grow out aquarium and put the male back in the display aquarium. 

I tried this method after my failed first spawn where the fry were all eaten by apistos in my main aquarium. I had no survivors from the first spawn, but I got a second spawn soon after. This second spawn I decided to pull the fry before they left the cave. I ended up losing 90% of the fry through different causes (they went to different grow outs for maximum success) and I didn’t get another spawn afterwards. I wonder if that was because I pulled the fry?

[Levi_Aquatics]

@Crabby I doubt it was because you pulled the fry. It is probably more likely that water parameters, not getting enough food, or getting picked on by other fish was the problem. You will also almost always have some losses which is unfortunate but is just the way it goes sometimes. 

[Crabby]

On 1/7/2022 at 1:16 AM, Levi_Aquatics said:

@Crabby I doubt it was because you pulled the fry. It is probably more likely that water parameters, not getting enough food, or getting picked on by other fish was the problem. You will also almost always have some losses which is unfortunate but is just the way it goes sometimes. 

Yeah I was considering it could also be the food. I have a feeling I was feeding a decent amount of pumpkin before they spawned the 2 times, and I probably ran out shortly after. Parameters and treatment from other fish have been the same forever.

[Levi_Aquatics]

@Crabby Yeah that could have done it. I always feed my Bristlenose cucumber slices and green beans. 

[Guppysnail]

I let dad raise them then remove them from the main tank 2 weeks after they emerge. I use the hose part only from my small manual python gravel vac at a suggestion from someone on here to suck them out into a bucket to transfer them.  Works like a charm. Biofilm is a critical first food and they need a lot of food. Starvation is the number one cause for pleco fry death water quality is the second they are very sensitive. I don’t have room for every batch so I pull the eggs every other one. I’m done breeding them now so I pull all of them and like clock work mom lays every month without issue. I only have 1m/1/f. My survival rate is in the 80% range. Saturday I sell my last batch so have not done the actual tally of the last batch but that is the average so far. Feed mom GENEROUSLY with high protein food. My mom eats 3x what dad does. Hope that helps. Best of luck.