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Moving BN Pleco Babies to Growout Tank


Stef
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Hi everyone, so I got a 20 gal long ready for my baby BN plecos. They were born on April 20 and are growing and eating and pooping like crazy. They’re all in my betta’s 10 gal with their dad which is not ideal, I know. Since this is my first go with baby plecos, I wasn’t sure when they could be transferred to the growout safely (at what age/size). They’re about a half inch long and I have about 15-25 of them. I also wanted to move their dad to the growout since he’s too big for a 10 gal. Mom was already moved to a separate 20 gal so no more babies. 

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I just move them. As long as temp is close. I do the water change on both the current and new tank before I move them so parameters are sort of the same but I don’t even test prior. I literally net and walk them in the net to the new tank and drop them in. I have never had one show ill affects. I have also netted stragglers without water change and dumped them in the new tank. It is a very unceremonious process for me. 🤣

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Again, so I've been transferring all my baby BN plecos to their 20 gal long growout tank.  All has been going well with the exception of how many babies there are.  I definitely underestimated my initial count.  I've transferred a total of 85 babies so far.  I believe this is from two different spawns.  I found the first group on April 20 and didn't get to remove the adult female until 3 weeks later and started noticing different sized babies after she was transferred out. 

Problem #1:  feeding a group this large;
Problem #2:  finding homes/lfs to take them before the babies breed with each other; and
Problem #3:  can a 20 gal Long house this many growing, eating, pooping fish even temporarily until re-homed.

@Guppysnail, with this many babies, how much food needs to be offered?  I've been giving about 3-4 blocks/chunks  (1" cubes) of Repashy Morning Wood daily.  Then alternating with about a 6 pcs of canned green beans.  If it's not being eaten by the following day, I back off quantities.  They don't seem to like blanched zucchini and it goes to mush uneaten.  I have every form of pellet too, but Repashy is their go to food.  I'm checking water parameters every other day and doing water changes as needed.  Do I just keep looking at their bellies and/or whether food is being left uneaten?  There's really no algae in the new growout tank yet aside for biofilm they may clean up but is otherwise a clean tank.

Is it possible to divide this tank with males and females once they can be identified, or is this like herding cats?🙂

Sorry, this is a lot of questions.  I really had no idea they could breed so easily and quickly.

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Mine never liked zucchini or cucumbers. Broccoli and bell peppers are hit or miss. Canned gr beans never a huge hit but more than zucchini.  Fresh steamed gr beans opened to the meat longways with seeds removed are always a huge hit and packed with vitamin c.  
 

I make certain there are always some but not to many veggies available.  I put repashy on a bamboo stick so it was spread out then suction clamped to the front glass and made sure each little one had a place on the stick each day 1x a day. For me they ate non stop to reach full potential and grow well.  
 

mine never ate much of the wafers pellets or other comercial foods but after a few weeks to a month they figured out they liked repashy. 
 

 

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It takes months like 5-6 to I’d males from females. More like herding greased pigs 🤣 

they won’t breed until 7-9 months

i did it in a 20 long daily 50% water changes

The member only presentation listed the top two reasons for failure to thrive/fry loss of pleco

#1 starvation because they need to eat so much. #2 water quality because they need to eat so much

my mom lays clutches every single month like clockwork  each clutch getting a bit bigger

 

Hope that helps

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@Guppysnailwould removing all hiding places and caves limit or deter any unwanted breeding or will nature eventually take its course?  The tank is fairly bare as it is with some drift wood and seriyu stones but there are spaces in the rock pieces they are currently hiding in. I’m asking in the event all 85+ cannot be sold/given away before reaching breeding age. 

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On 6/9/2022 at 1:18 PM, Stef said:

@Guppysnailwould removing all hiding places and caves limit or deter any unwanted breeding or will nature eventually take its course?  The tank is fairly bare as it is with some drift wood and seriyu stones but there are spaces in the rock pieces they are currently hiding in. I’m asking in the event all 85+ cannot be sold/given away before reaching breeding age. 

I have heard some say yes, I personally think no.  If she develops eggs it has to happen. I’ve also seen photos of bare bottom qt where the girl lays in a corner. 

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On 6/9/2022 at 12:18 PM, Stef said:

@Guppysnailwould removing all hiding places and caves limit or deter any unwanted breeding or will nature eventually take its course?  The tank is fairly bare as it is with some drift wood and seriyu stones but there are spaces in the rock pieces they are currently hiding in. I’m asking in the event all 85+ cannot be sold/given away before reaching breeding age. 

mine like to breed in my community tank if they have anywhere that will resemble a cave or log.  i take out these items when i get over run with pleco's, and at least for me removing the hiding place stops the breeding.

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You can move them the minute they leave the cave - daddy isn't much of daddy after they leave. soilent green is a food they will eat. Be sure to have some mature soft wood in the 20 L (like Malaysian) wood provides two benefits - first biofilm and second when they get older they will require wood to properly digest food. Mine will eat raw zuc (I put a plant weight in it) and as they get older raw sweet potato (which is less messy). 

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On 6/9/2022 at 1:05 PM, anewbie said:

Mine will eat raw zuc (I put a plant weight in it) and as they get older raw sweet potato (which is less messy). 

Will have to try sweet potato as I usually have them around. 

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On 6/9/2022 at 12:46 PM, lefty o said:

mine like to breed in my community tank if they have anywhere that will resemble a cave or log.  i take out these items when i get over run with pleco's, and at least for me removing the hiding place stops the breeding.

@lefty o when you say "over run" how many babies are you generally dealing with?  I'm at 85 and still a few more to transfer to the growout.  Having not had any luck with breeding when I was in the hobby years ago, this kind of caught me off guard.  I also do not have any community fish that would prey on the fry.  I think my betta gave it his best shot 😉 

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My bn breed like regular clockwork. If the nannacara didn't eat them i would have 1000's after a 4 to 6 months. I keep wondering if they will slow down their breeding rate. As it is the nannacara is an excellent hunter and he gets nearly all of them. If i remove a couple they make it with ease.

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