Problem with pleco babies

[weng0202]

Hi all,

My L201 have been breeding regularly for me for the past year or so. But recently I have had two batches of babies which died before the egg sac is fully absorbed. It seems that some of the babies have problems absorbing the egg sac completely.

Does anyone have experience in this? Any possible causes?

[MatsP]

What is your setup?

Any symptoms of the fry?

--
Mats

[weng0202]

Hi,

My setup is really simple. The plecos are housed in a 2 ft tank for more than a year and there is only an OHF powered by an internal pump with a flowrate at about 1000 litres/hour. Water change is done twice a week at 50% with SeaChem prime as water conditioner. The plecos are fed on hikari carnivorous pellets and hikari lionhead pellets. There are a total of 2 males and 3 females.

Since they have started breeding I have never encountered any fry not being able to absorb their yolk sac completely. Only one of the males is actively spawning (once a month). I will usually remove the fries once they have hatched and place them in a floating breeder box. The following is the records for the past 4 batches of fries:

1st batch (Earliest): The fries were ok and healthy and able to absorb the yolk sac.
2nd batch: The fries died before they could completely absorb the yolk sac.
3rd batch: The fries were ok and no casualties so far and already one month old.
4th batch (latest): A few fries have already past away and were unable to absorb the yolk sac.

I did not notice any unusual symptoms before the fries begin to die off, only that they seem to take longer time to absorb the yolk sac. Could it be that the male is spawning too regularly and couldn't recover in time or there is something wrong with one of the females?

I'm getting worried since this is the second time I have encountered this.

[Jon R]

Had the same problem, my 201's had their first spawn, no problems for a week and then they started to die, looks like the egg sacs are not being absorbed, have no idea why so any info would be a great help

[plecoboy]

50% water change twice a week? I only take 5 gallons out of my 50 gallon tank.

[DBam]

Does your hardness take a big drop with each water change?

[MatsP]

50% water change twice a week? I only take 5 gallons out of my 50 gallon tank.

I take 50% out of all my main tanks every week, and some of my fry tanks I change more often.

Large water changes are only a problem if they are done rarely. Twice a week isn't rarely.

--
Mats

[NChops134]

Hello, congratulations on your successful breeding!

Do you have a bare bottom on your tank?
Often, pleco fry have a very hard time on the glass. Something about them being in direct contact with the bacteria on the floor. When others have had this problem, they have added a very fine layer of sand and had much better results. However, putting them in a fry saver would also do the trick, but personally I prefer to let them roam after they are big enough to be away from the male.
Good luck and keep us posted! Pics are always appreciated!