How to select/seperate a bn pair from the group??

[angel_fish]

Hi all,
I have a group of l144, 2 males and 6 females.
I want to select and separate a pair in order not to get stressed when spawning, in other word should i separate pairs or let them spawn in a crowed tank? if yes, how to select corresponding pairs?

[Jobro]

Hello Angel_fish,

As most of the more common ancistrus, your "L144" will spawn once they are ready and provided with a fitting cave.

It will therefor not matter if you keep them in a community tank or in a separated breeding tank (as pairs or groups). They will spawn anyways at some point. However, putting any adult pair (a big male and a round belly female) into a separate breeder, should lead to spawning rather quickly.

Johannes

[bekateen]

Hi angel_fish,

I'd recommend leaving them together in a group. Just provide a big enough tank with lots of caves and hiding places (wood, rocks) to allow fish places to go if they want to get away from each other. Let the fish pick their own mates instead of you pairing them up.

Also, as a side note, your fish ID is incorrect. If you bought fish named L144, they are more likely

Ancistrus sp(4)

. L144 in the original sense does not exist in the hobby anymore. You can read why here: https://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm ... cle_id=531

Cheers, Eric