Going For Gold
by Charles Drew
First published in the Monthly Bulletin of the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society
Aquarticles
Over the many years I have been in the hobby I have raised quite a few Bushynose
Plecos. Two or three years ago I became aware of an albino bushynose of the Ancistrus
family. No one has said for sure what species it is but my guess that it is probably
either Ancistrus dolichopterus or Ancistrus temminckii. It is said to
have originated in Holland. And until quite recently has been passed around mainly through
hobbyists. There is also a pretty albino Gibbiceps Pleco, pond raised in Florida
that will grow eighteen inches in your aquarium or at least three feet long in Florida
fish farm ponds. Our Albino Ancistrus grows between six and eight inches in
length and is a rich yellow in colour. The males grow outstanding branched tentacles on
their nose whereas the females have none.
I received my fish from Jim and Linda Brown of the Durham and Region Club just prior to
Christmas 2001. They were an inch long and eight in the bag. I guessed their age at about
a month. I took them home and placed them in a fifteen gallon aquarium with an Aqua clear
mini filter on it. They were fed zucchini and algae wafers which they were fond of. As
time went by they were fed some frozen brine shrimp and frozen beef heart formula. They
ate and grew and after about six months you could see that I had two females and six
males.
At nine months the one female who was larger than the other looked ready to spawn. I
waited and waited but nothing happened. A male had taken up occupancy in the half coconut
shell, but she was reluctant to spawn even though she was quite fat. I questioned a few
people and scanned Planted Catfish on the net. I soon concluded that since the last time I
had spawned Plecos my fish room had become warmer. It is now about eighty degrees,
obviously too warm for spawning plecos. Also the tank I had moved the pair into did not
have a power filter and plecos like a current. The males have a preference for gravel
bottoms and their tank was bare. I soon corrected all of the problems. The pair was placed
in a fifteen gallon aquarium outside of the fishroom at about 74 degrees with coarse sand
on the bottom. Then I went and bought them their own power filter. They then rewarded me
with a spawning in less than a week. The male stays in the coconut shell and fans the
eggs. Unfortunately he accidentally sweeps some eggs out of the opening. Sometimes one or
two at a time or a whole bunch.
Being experienced in this problem I merely sucked up the rather large eggs in a large
syringe and put them in a bowl with an air stone and a drop of acriflavine. Every day I
picked up loose eggs and after the seventh day the eggs hatched and I continued to pick up
the occasional fry which look like an egg with a tail on it.
The yolk sac takes another seven days to shrink to where the fry are ready to feed.
When I first tried to feed them in the bowl the water started to foul. I was afraid of
losing them so I moved them to a fifteen gallon tank. After a few hours they started to
die. I lost seven or eight. I moved the approximately fifty fry back to the bowl. I then
sat back and gave it some deep thought. I bought another filter for the tank because the
fry liked circulation such as they got in the bowl from the air stone. Also they needed a
better, more natural first food. I got up went out to my partially frozen bog pond and
brought in a piece of cattail leaf that was mushy and half under water. I placed it in the
bowl and in no time at all the fry were on it. The water was changed daily and zucchini
and algae wafers were slowly introduced after a few days. A week later I started to add
the fry to the tank again a few at a time. They were also given a piece of drift wood to
chew on which is said to be beneficial to their digestive system.
Over the next weeks I experimented with foods such as snow peas, cabbage, Brussels
sprouts, squash, sweet potato and green beans. All were cooked until soft, then frozen for
future use when needed. Their favourite is a toss up between zucchini and cabbage. Sweet
potatoes and squash should be fed sparingly because they tend to foul and cloud the water.
At the time of writing the first spawning of fry are about an inch and a half long. The
second spawning is about an inch long and number about 150 fry. The male at present is
again looking after eggs but this time is kicking very few out. I now have to go and pick
up more Aquaclear power filters to provide current for more up coming offspring. The male
tries to keep the fry in the coconut shell as long as possible. Even a week or more after
they are ready to feed. He seems to want to spawn about every thirty days. He must come
out at night to feed because he still seems to stay in good shape. The female seems to
refill quickly with eggs. I can only say each spawning seems to get larger and better. I
have no doubt that these fish will be in the hobby for a long time.
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