My Female BN keep dying. Pls help :(

[Luis]

 

Hey, just woke up and saw the BN plec dead next to a piece of zucchini. 
It seems like every time I get a female that’s Eggbound she always dies. Happened about a 3 weeks ago too. 😞

Anyone have advice on keeping these? 
 

my tank is 600 litres, plenty of wood and hiding spots. 
I feed veggies regularly, feed algae wafers, do 35-40% weekly water changes. I don’t know how to keep female bristlenose alive for some reason. 😔

I really like the fish so it’s really upsetting it’s happened twice. 
first time I thought maybe it was because I didn’t have any Males to help the female lay her eggs but then I got two and same thing happened. 
 

Please anyone know what could be the issue? 
 

thanks,

luis. 

[Luis]

And now I’m down to two males and two females. And I have another female that’s very egg bound too. 
how can I keep her from ending up the same as the other two? 
 

I really don’t want her to die 🙁

Any advice? 
 

thanks,

luis

[Colu]

If she egg bound I would do  Epsom salt bath as catfish are more sensitive to salt I would start at  1 table spoon for 5 gallons  for no more than 15 minutes 2-3 times as  Epsom salt acts as a muscle relaxants you can up The salt to 1 table spoon for 3 gallons but monitor closely any sign of de-stress remover your bristlenose straight away if your constantly getting egg bound female something else could be going on did you get them all from the same place have old are they and what are your water parameters

Edited January 26, 2022 by Colu

[Guppysnail]

I’m sorry for your losses. You may not have had the males long enough or they may not be old enough (if they have bristles they are sexually mature) for them to select caves court the females and be ready to spawn. Try a series of cooler water changes to trigger the males to start their part of the spawning process Of selecting and grooming a cave and courting the female. Add several caves so they have a selection. Diameter should be no more than 2-3 inches 5-6 inches in depth (mine are 2.75 in x 6 in) spread around the tank so each male can choose one to their liking. The rest can be removed after they choose.  Make sure you have wood in the tank. Feed blanched veggies as well to help their digestive track and provide proper nutrients as well as high protein so their bodies do not get depleted during eggs formation. Hope that helps I will be keeping my fingers crossed that this issue resolves for you without further complications. 

[Luis]

On 1/26/2022 at 2:32 PM, Colu said:

If she egg bound I would do  Epsom salt bath as catfish are more sensitive to salt I would start at  1 table spoon for 5 gallons  for no more than 15 minutes 2-3 times as  Epsom salt acts as a muscle relaxants you can up The salt to 1 table spoon for 3 gallons but monitor closely any sign of de-stress remover your bristlenose straight away if your constantly getting egg bound female something else could be going on did you get them all from the same place have old are they and what are your water parameters

Honestly I am constantly getting egg bound females. I’ve had three die on me for the same issue in the space of 2.5 months. And the one I describe now is also very egg bound. 
All my plecs are smaller than 3 inches so probably like 5-7months or so. The males have bristles too so they should be ready. And for my water parameters I’m waiting for my new kit to come this week. 
but if it was a water issue I’m sure other fish in the tank would show some other signs but everyone’s behaving normally apart from a yo-yo loach that I had to take out for quarantining a couple days back. 
 

With regards to the Epsom salt bath, is it okay to use aquarium salt from API? And would it be just netting her out into a bowl with some salt and let her soak in it for 10 min? 
 

I know I won’t learn unless I do, but I’m afraid taking her out will stress her even more. 
 

You reckon I should try that method? 
 

Many thanks,

luis

On 1/26/2022 at 3:07 PM, Guppysnail said:

I’m sorry for your losses. You may not have had the males long enough or they may not be old enough (if they have bristles they are sexually mature) for them to select caves court the females and be ready to spawn. Try a series of cooler water changes to trigger the males to start their part of the spawning process Of selecting and grooming a cave and courting the female. Add several caves so they have a selection. Diameter should be no more than 2-3 inches 5-6 inches in depth (mine are 2.75 in x 6 in) spread around the tank so each male can choose one to their liking. The rest can be removed after they choose.  Make sure you have wood in the tank. Feed blanched veggies as well to help their digestive track and provide proper nutrients as well as high protein so their bodies do not get depleted during eggs formation. Hope that helps I will be keeping my fingers crossed that this issue resolves for you without further complications. 

I really appreciate it. 
My males have bristles so they should be ready. 
many last water change was Sunday Night. 
when and how much would you suggest to do the next water change and how often? 
 

thanks again, 

luis

Right now she mostly spends her time on this piece of driftwood up close to the surface. 
 

i don’t know if that behaviour indicates something? 
 

and I also included a image of one of the males with the bristles. 

[Guppysnail]

Mine are sensitive to nitrates so I keep them as close to or below 20 as possible. Once the male chooses a cave that will help. For cool water changes to induce the male behavior I would do 30-40% first day and 20 each day until he chooses a cave. If they are all getting this way in a short amount of time 2-3 months it may be parasites it an internal infection causing that stomach bloating @Colu knows more about that stuff than I do. Hope it gets better. Keep us posted. 

[Torrey]

API aquarium salt will not be the same as epsom salt. 

Epsom salt is magnesium chloride, and the magnesium is a muscle relaxer.

Aquarium salt is sodium chloride, and sodium is used to contract muscles, so opposite effect. 

I am not a pleco specialist, I defer to Colu on the treatment. 

[Luis]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:26 PM, Torrey said:

API aquarium salt will not be the same as epsom salt. 

Epsom salt is magnesium chloride, and the magnesium is a muscle relaxer.

Aquarium salt is sodium chloride, and sodium is used to contract muscles, so opposite effect. 

I am not a pleco specialist, I defer to Colu on the treatment. 

 

On 1/26/2022 at 9:26 PM, Torrey said:

API aquarium salt will not be the same as epsom salt. 

Epsom salt is magnesium chloride, and the magnesium is a muscle relaxer.

Aquarium salt is sodium chloride, and sodium is used to contract muscles, so opposite effect. 

I am not a pleco specialist, I defer to Colu on the treatment. 

Thank you for your reply. So I believe it’s worth a try. Should I just grab some Epsom salts off of Amazon or does it have to be from a specific place? 
 

thanks
 

 

[Torrey]

The most important part is to get plain epsom salt, with no added aromas or colors, or essential oils. 

Ingredients should read magnesium sulfate (MgSO4).

I mistyped above, because I meant to say magnesium sulfate, **not** magnesium chloride (would create a completely different reaction 😬)

So anywhere you can get magnesium sulfate, and mix as Colu instructed. Make sure temperature is the same in the epsom salt bath for the fish.

To make your life easier, if you have a 5 gallon bottle or bucket, mix the 1  tablespoon of epsom salt into 5 gallons of dechlorinated water, and then pour water into a specimen container. Set your timer for 15 minutes, and catch the pleco and place her in the specimen container. Watch her carefully for any signs of distress. 

Remove her immediately from the bath if she is in distress, or when the timer dings. Net her and return her to the tank, then pour out the epsom bath water. Repeat as Colu recommends.

[Luis]

On 1/26/2022 at 10:53 PM, Torrey said:

The most important part is to get plain epsom salt, with no added aromas or colors, or essential oils. 

Ingredients should read magnesium sulfate (MgSO4).

I mistyped above, because I meant to say magnesium sulfate, **not** magnesium chloride (would create a completely different reaction 😬)

So anywhere you can get magnesium sulfate, and mix as Colu instructed. Make sure temperature is the same in the epsom salt bath for the fish.

To make your life easier, if you have a 5 gallon bottle or bucket, mix the 1  tablespoon of epsom salt into 5 gallons of dechlorinated water, and then pour water into a specimen container. Set your timer for 15 minutes, and catch the pleco and place her in the specimen container. Watch her carefully for any signs of distress. 

Remove her immediately from the bath if she is in distress, or when the timer dings. Net her and return her to the tank, then pour out the epsom bath water. Repeat as Colu recommends.

Perfect will get that sorted tomorrow and pop down to my LFS as I believe they have some. 
Thank you, will be following those instructions with what colu suggested too. 

also managed to catch her away from her usual spot, but this is how she currently looks. 
 

 

[Scott Stevenson]

This is a very interesting topic I have a small group of 3 albino BN. They were very young when I got them, to the point that they couldn't really be sexed yet. they are at the point that it appears (with my untrained eye ) that I ended up with (2) males and (1) female. At what point are females able to start producing eggs?

 

my males do not have much for bristles yet so would not be able to do their part.

 

[Guppysnail]

@Scott StevensonMy mom was approx 8 months old. Lemon blue eye.