Mooo's Common Ancistrus Cirrhosus breeding log.

Mooo

Member
Aug 11, 2010
1,876
3
36
Jervis Bay, NSW, Au
G'day all
I thought I would add a breeding log of my own..a photo log ...
Here goes..
I had a virgin female bn for well over a year, I usually get them tiny & give them back when they are larger, as I breed rams and other delicate fry, I was initially only keeping them for tank cleaning, But this female I really liked, she had great markings & was a good size. Her new hubby was only about 9 months old, He was nothing special, but I kept this one also once I noticed his bristles growing, Once he had a good number of bristles, I introduced them to each other. fortunately they got on well :D
I left them a week or so to get to know each other...
Sooo......while I waited, I made a cave for them,..
After a week I added their cave..&..
As soon as I placed it in their tank, The female dove right in..lol
I barely got my arm out of the water lol..She was very keen,
Then Mr Bn, skulked about for a while, looking in, then they swapped back and forth, She was in there, then he was in there, then her again and so on, then that afternoon, I noticed she was in there with him..That was fast work lol
This photos with her head poking out is her actually laying her eggs. Amazing stuff & I got to watch the whole romance ..
The parents doing their thang..

I then seen strange behavior from the male, Strange cos this was my first time breeding bns, He was upside down with his mouth outside the cave open to the water, he was sucking a heap..but looked like he was sucking water (I later realised the eggs were just back from the caves entrance, this behavior was him fertilizing the eggs)

He was fanning with his bottom 4 fins. Even outside the cave, seems to be an involuntary thing when they're on eggs ? It looked like he was dancing to a beat lol..
Dad looking very pleased with himself..

The eggs

Hatching fry ..Day1

One escaped the cave so I grabbed it and put it in a fry saver..was a great chance to get some photos of it's development...

Day two


Day 3



Day 4


Day 5


Day 6


Day 7 The mass exodus



Day 8


Mum n fry


Dad n fry



Micro shots


Fry were fed on Hikari algae wafers, cucumber, & Omega One red seaweed, they go absolutely nuts over the seaweed...

Tank details
60L
1x Sponge filter, 1x Hangon filter with noodle media...
Temp...steady at 26.
Moderately planted..

I hope you enjoyed my photo breeding log, It was my first attempt at breeding these wonderful creatures...:thumbup:
 
Last edited:

JackGillett

Member
Jan 10, 2010
1,698
0
36
28
Oxford
i really like that mooo.. I never got to see ANY of my bns spawn. Not the breeding, guarding. anything.My spawn was only 14 fish. Is that normal?
 

dan1801a

Member
Aug 10, 2010
226
0
16
Derby
Fantastic log !!

My wife has fell in love with them. Quite strange when wife turns to you and says " I want baby BN " !!
 

scatz

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
5,379
2
38
47
Devon, UK
fantastic photo's, great to see the development from inside the cave, not something you normally get to see.
greta log
 

Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
8,786
2
36
wow, I enjoyed looking at those photos. Its hard to believe how much plecs change in just a few days. Excellent log, thankyou:D
 

Mooo

Member
Aug 11, 2010
1,876
3
36
Jervis Bay, NSW, Au
Hi again..:hi:
@ Jack .."Is 14 fry normal", I would hope to get more than 14, I don't know that there is a normal number of fry, I'd say, its all up to mother nature, there are so many things that can reduce fry numbers...My 80+ fry were a very lucky fluke...imo :clap:

I am so glad you all enjoyed the log, I took a gazzillion photos of this event. I tried to not spam the post too much, :yes: those photos are the bare minimum I could post...lol, Next experiment is with the Albino longfins...another week and I am introducing them to each other,
I am doing the same as I did with the common female, ie The albino female has been kept alone with only shrimp and 2 of my L397s as tank mates...so I'm hoping the same interest and instant breeding will ensue as with the commons...the male alfbnis definitely ready for mating..

Do I do a separate log, or do I continue on with this one when the alfbns get jiggy wid it...:dk:
 

C8lyn

Member
Aug 3, 2010
403
0
16
Toowoomba, Qld
I've found this log to be really helpful with my bn breeding experience.
It gave me an idea of what to expect with the growth of the fry and I even used the same cave and they loved it :clap:
Mine haven't come out of the cave yet, but I guess every family is different :D

Thanks for your help with this great Log.