29 replies to this topic

[fish]

Hi all

have just started breeding these and they just started free swimming today. Was just wondering how long they will take to grow to about 3-4cm

thanks

[gilz]

bristlenose are the only things i'v really bred
and thats unintentionally
iv tried splitting up the main offenders but they still find a way
the batch of about 50 i have at the moment are all about 2cm
and i think its been about a month maybe
maybe a little more

the more you change the water (small changes)
and the more you feed them the faster they grow
thats what iv heard
but the more u feed them the more the shit the more you need to clean the water
so you have to do both
i have a small air driven chamber type filter in mine (i had a stocking over it while they were small)
and that does a good job i recon
better than the sponge filter iv tried
just a pain in the ass cleaning it though

o and i know that doesnt really answer you're question
but i thought you might be able to gauge it based on the growth rate mine have
and thats with regular water changes and feeding them zucchini lettuce and algae wafers

iv been told about 4 months before they hit the 3-4 mark

[fish]

ok thanks mate for the help, i have around 50 too

[fish]

some sites are saying to remove the fry and put them in another aquarium, do i need to do this?

[gilz]

i do
but thats because i dont have a setup dedicated to them
mine bred in a community tank and they would have been eaten for sure
the dad will protect them to a certain to degree while there small
it depends what else is in the tank

iv heard of people leaving them with the dad (taking the mum out)
iv heard of people taking them and the dad out
iv heard of people leaving them in there with all the other fish

i randomly one day found a baby about 2 cm in length
meaning they spawned i didnt notice and all but one was eaten/died

therefore i remove them
once this batch are gone im setting up a breeding tank
just a male and some of my best females and im letting them do there thing
i figure if there breeding like they are i may as well set it up and get some money out of it
haha

[fish]

yeah thats what im doing my last female died laying the eggs but bought a new 1 the other week and 2 weeks later they r everywhere, ive just set up a breeding tank just for them

if u need some gravel for your bristlenose setup ive got some i dont need anymore

[gilz]

im still deciding whether or not to go bare bottom

if anything happens and i need to get them out they get right into the gravel
easier to clean as well
which is bloody hard when there are 50 tiny little bottom dwellers swimming around haha

[fish]

haha yeah i didnt think of that

[bigjohnnofish]

if you want results go gravel and dont mess about with adding/removing parents/fry.....

[hitman]

wow never seen that many bristlenose catfish in one tank before and nice peps
is that the female in the log in the albeno tank

[gilz]

What is the benefit of gravel
I'm happy to use it but I couldn't think of a benefit

[Dr_Pat]

Increases surface area for micro fauna and helps with filtration (running air pumps with babies means filtration is less efficient than with a cannister, but this way you compensate for that somewhat), it stops muck from being stirred up so much by fish moving around so much.... John's kind of the catfish man so I'm inclined to just do what he says. lol. But I'm sure there's other benefits?

[gilz]

Gravel it is then
Yeah going by those pics and what iv heard from people he sounds like the right guy to listen to haha

[Dr_Pat]

Yeah.... after seeing those pictures, I think I'll be setting up a BN breeding tank post exams. lol.

[fish]

Gilz do u want some gravel because Ive got heaps of brown gravel that i dont need anymore

[gilz]

i think ill probably put whatever gravel i have lying around to use
should have enough
will free up some space too

cheers anyway

[fish]

no worries mate

[waxy]

Johnno knows best Id say.
But just remember if ya do decide to seperate fry from parents into another tank, Fry are pretty fragile until around 2cm.
So make sure water conditions ( PH etc.) are close in both tanks.

[fish]

ok thanks am probably gonna seperate them when they get bigger

[bigjohnnofish]

wow never seen that many bristlenose catfish in one tank before and nice peps
is that the female in the log in the albeno tank

nope that would be the male hanging upside down... you get many variations of the male head and bristles.. he has raised nose like a mow hawk with smaller alternating bristles on it...

im yet to see a glass bottom 2 foot tank holding 1000 x 2cm fry.... or 500 x 3-4cm fry for any length of time and keep the fish alive healthy and growing.

gravel keeps fry off the bottom where nasty slime algae can grow... and creates a huge surface area for bacteria... not to mention all sorts of micro organisms that b/n eat...
and if and when ammonia builds up in your tank it starts from the bottom up.... when you get an ammonia spike test water from the bottom of the tank then the top and you'll see a difference...
i could keep going but i really have better things to do....