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I don`t know if it is a spawning attempt, but my 16cm (hopefully female) has entered the cave of my large male (21cm). I don`t know if the smaller one just made a mistake or if this is an actual attempt to spawn. They have been messing around in there for three hours. Belly to belly, and all sorts of positions. The largest female (20cm) sits outside the cave, looking very interested. She has even tried to get in there, but there is not room for three I will have a hard time going to sleep tonight

Female(hopefully) on the left.


The gray area on the right is the belly of the female:

My fingers are crossed for a successfull spawn.

--
Mats

wow! can't wait to hear what happenned!!

The female is still in the cave, with the male halfway in. I somehow feel that she may have entered the cave by a mistake. She has several scraches from the male. I hope he won`t kill her.

Lets hope it's just "Love bites"...

--
Mats

Dim the lights,put some music and let the "couple" enjoy their love......

The male has found himself a new cave. The female is still in the cave. Her whole body is filled with bruises, and I am worried for her health

I think she accidentally went in to the cave in the first place.

Hi!

Form my experience, both females and males can fight over a cave. Sometimes I thought that there would be a breeding attemt, but instead they where just fighting... or something like that.

But when my female (now dead) were spawning, she where around the cave and looked very interested.. so it seemes like some kind if breedng attemt.

They are very sensetive for interuptions... so my suggestion is to stay away from the aqurium if you suspect that they will breed. That will increase your're... or there chanses for a succesful breeding.

But... the male can kill, even a large female...

Good luck!

Thank you Cristoffer! I have learned a lesson about these fish. I had to pull the male out to get to the female before he killed her. She is now in a 200 liter recovery tank, but it is highly unlikely she will survive. Her whole body is swollen. She is almost unresponsive at this stage. Made her rather easy to photograph properly.

I don`t have any medisin. Should I add a therapautic dose of red sea salt to help her ease the osmotic pressure? What amount would be appropriate for 200 liters?

I've just seen the poor girl, what a sorry state she's in! I REALLY hope she manages to pull through, please keep us updated on her.

You should add around 50-60 ml salt to your 200 L aquarium, and tomorrow buy some medication against bacteria and fungus so she dont get infected, increase the temp to 29-30 C.
I have succeeded to kill some females of L. triactis too, the male can be very agressive under his attempts to breed with a female and it's normal that females get a little demolished under the act and maybe with these genus we could use similar techniques that is used for very agressive cichlids. Devide the aquarium in two sections with the male in one and the female in the other and let the pair mature until they both are ready for spawn.

Janne

Thank you Janne:) I have measured up the salt, dissolved and added it to the tank. I will go to the fishstore during my lunchbreak tomorrow and buy medicine.
I should have pulled her out yesterday evening. Next time I won`t be so greedy for a spawn.
The large undamaged female seemed very interested in the the cave yesterday, and even tried to get into the cave with the small female and male. She is similar in size to the male. I found this behaviour very interesting.

The female looks a lot like a gibbiceps I once found with similar wounds. it survived 2 days, it turned out 2 had 2 gibbiceps in the tank. Obviously this killer giobby wilol never have a second change

I'll keep my fingers crossed fror het, though

The same happened to my female Hypancistrus L262. I found her dead with exactly the same injuries as your female L. triactis.

It pays to keep a really close eye on them to prevent this, but as you say, you don't want to pull your female just before she's about to spawn, and you also don't want to disturb spawning by shining lights at them too often.

I guess experience is the best judge.

I hope you don't lose her. Fingers crossed.

Hi Haavard.

This female was healthy. I'm sure she can resist these kind of competence. Although she wasn't ready to spawn she needs a cave where feel sure. Be sure on the caves number and size in your large tank.
Actually any salt to prevent and antibiotic therapy helping her will be enough.

Sadly I had lost two L262 in these cave/spawn competence last year. I think any L numbers are really aggressive at spawn time but fortunately it's only happens until the time establish each one of the group in it's place.

I'm not sure but I think I had read anywhere L. triactis males are very warlike toward to othes.100% sure female?

Like Racoll and others

I hope you don't lose her. Fingers crossed.

.

regards.

I think any L numbers are really aggressive at spawn time

Its those randy males. They don't seem to understand, no means no.

Sadly she died during the night.

pramirez wrote:
I'm not sure but I think I had read anywhere L. triactis males are very warlike toward to othes.100% sure female?

Not sure at all. She was a bit small to sex, but I believe she was a female.

My other female (for sure) is 20cm. The male is 21 cm. I will keep a close eye on them.

I'm so sorry, it's such a shame

I"m really sorry you lost that poor fish.

sorry for your loss

We learn

Anyway... My H. zebras bred tonight, so I am not that down about the L. triactis

Hope you have some better luck with the zebras, Haavard

oh my gosh, I am so sorry.

DAWN wrote:Hope you have some better luck with the zebras, Haavard

The zebras are routine

so can I ask, was it really a boy that got hurt and not a girl? and the boy got stuck in there and couldn't get out so the other hurt him?

also the injury in the pic, is it liek the skin is gone? Man, that was a beautiful pleco.

Haavard,
After she died you could have checked if she was carry any eggs in her stomach, I am sure she was but you had felt 100% sure she was a feamle. When feeling insecure it's a good way to know how mature the female was when she died, if the eggs was well developed she was ready for spawn and you could exclude that reason and focused on why she get so heavily damaged.

Some larger Leporacanthicus and almost all Pseudacanthicus males is very agressive under the act when breeding and the females is always wounded, timing I think is the answer to avoid too heavily damages.
It's difficult to find adults of both sexes and they are normaly quite expensive so it's frustrating to loose one of them, now you are a lucky guy that have one more female and I'm sure you will keep an eye on her at the next breeding attempt.
I think it can be a good idea when trying to breed these genus to devide the breeding aquarium into 2 sections either with a plastic plate with holes or a heavier net so the water flow between the sections not are to much affected, when the female is ready to spawn then take out the devider.

Janne

Reading Janne's remark, I only wonder: do loricarids need contact between the sexes before developing eggs? If so, this would be hard to combine with his - otherwise very good - remarks

Janne/Haavard,

Is most of the damage inflicted with teeth, or with the abrasions from the spines?

Maybe females only choose the most aggressive "wife-beating" males, as they are most able to defend the nest from predators?

Bas Pels wrote:I only wonder: do loricarids need contact between the sexes before developing eggs?

No, they even not need to be in the same water but if they share the same water column they will also know there are a male or a female present in the same aquarium, they will also know when they are ready to breed even without touching each other.

racoll wrote:Is most of the damage inflicted with teeth, or with the abrasions from the spines?

The male use his teeth shewing on the females back, I think that belongs to the foreplay but if the female not are ready to spawn and the male refuse to let her go he will damage her a lot.

Janne