L345

[stuby]

Moved the L345's to the new fish room a few weeks ago and finally got them to breed. I pulled the eggs and hatched them myself. The male did destroy a couple eggs before I pulled them and injured a couple more, so they did not make it. Looks like ~20 hatched and are doing well so far.

Take care,
Chuck

[Jools]

Well done! Hope you get a decent number from the spawn.

Cheers,



Jools

[stuby]

Well done! Hope you get a decent number from the spawn.

Cheers,



Jools

Thanks Jools,

Looks like 24 hatched out in good shape. Not bad for their size and I know at least 4 were eaten/injured.

Take care,
Chuck

[bekateen]

Congratulations!

[Woodh]

Cool! How did you hatch the eggs?

[stuby]

Cool! How did you hatch the eggs?

I don't like egg tumblers. I take a large glass jar with 7/8 water (so it will float) in the tank they were bred in and an air stone. The first 12 hours or so I have Alder cones in with the eggs.... after I do 100% water changes several times a day till they are ready to go into a tank. The Alder cones have an antifungal property to them... and tannins that I think help. I have good results doing it this way.... better than when I try the egg tumblers.

Take care,
Chuck

[Woodh]

Cool! How did you hatch the eggs?

I don't like egg tumblers. I take a large glass jar with 7/8 water (so it will float) in the tank they were bred in and an air stone. The first 12 hours or so I have Alder cones in with the eggs.... after I do 100% water changes several times a day till they are ready to go into a tank. The Alder cones have an antifungal property to them... and tannins that I think help. I have good results doing it this way.... better than when I try the egg tumblers.

Take care,
Chuck

I see, are you just picking alder cones or preparing them somehow? Might just try this next time I get the chance as my male now ate(or something) the eggs for the second time in a month or so.

Anyway sounds like a true pleco keepers method

[stuby]

Cool! How did you hatch the eggs?

I don't like egg tumblers. I take a large glass jar with 7/8 water (so it will float) in the tank they were bred in and an air stone. The first 12 hours or so I have Alder cones in with the eggs.... after I do 100% water changes several times a day till they are ready to go into a tank. The Alder cones have an antifungal property to them... and tannins that I think help. I have good results doing it this way.... better than when I try the egg tumblers.

Take care,
Chuck

I see, are you just picking alder cones or preparing them somehow? Might just try this next time I get the chance as my male now ate(or something) the eggs for the second time in a month or so.

Anyway sounds like a true pleco keepers method

I have some on my property so I can pick them, and I also buy them off aquabid as I always run out. They have to be old mature cones before you pick/use them. Only time you can pick them is fall/winter when they are mature and before they fall off the tree. You want the treated water to look like a dark tea color so practice and keeping an eye on it is important till you know how many to use. For me 7 to 12 in a large glass jar.

HTH
Chuck

[stuby]

I should add that Almond leaves do the same as Alder cones from what I hear.... but I have never tried them.

[Woodh]

What's the problem with picking them from the ground? They are quite abundant in the area where I live so could pick(actually got a branch standing outside the door for decoration). Thanks for the tips, I am using almond leaves in some of my tanks but would be better not having to spend money on them(especially given the rise in energy cost and general stuff where I live, paying for leaves is not that high up on list at the moment ), I did try with self picked oak leaves but they have little effect on the water in my experience.

Not really related but do you have any pics of the parents? Seems to be very good looking plecos!

[stuby]

What's the problem with picking them from the ground? They are quite abundant in the area where I live so could pick(actually got a branch standing outside the door for decoration). Thanks for the tips, I am using almond leaves in some of my tanks but would be better not having to spend money on them(especially given the rise in energy cost and general stuff where I live, paying for leaves is not that high up on list at the moment ), I did try with self picked oak leaves but they have little effect on the water in my experience.

Not really related but do you have any pics of the parents? Seems to be very good looking plecos!

By the time the alder cones fall off the tree they have been rained on a lot more and aren't as effective/strong is the only reason I say to pick them off the tree. Red Oak is what I use in my tanks..... leaves sometimes but all of my tanks have branches in them. The branches give off tannins for years.

You can see some pictures of them in this link... viewtopic.php?p=324662#p324662

Take care,
Chuck

[Woodh]

I did collect some yesterday so will try them out next time I have a reason. Beautiful plecos indeed, looking forward to updates. Thanks for putting up with my questions!

[stuby]

I did collect some yesterday so will try them out next time I have a reason. Beautiful plecos indeed, looking forward to updates. Thanks for putting up with my questions!

No worries, I am happy to answer any questions so feel free to ask!

Decided it was time for them to go in the main tank. I've tried hang on the tank boxes, and they are fine for a short time..... but they seem to do much better for me in the main tank. A couple pictures so you can see what they look like now. My water is yellow from tannins as you can see.... one thing I think helps when it comes to breeding some plecs is my use of Red Oak and the tannins it gives off. Plus, they love to chew on it.

Take care,
Chuck

[stuby]

Found another batch of eggs this morning. The first batch I pulled from the male... this one was kicked. Look to be in good shape and a good amount.

Take care,
Chuck