The Move, and Spawning Bristlenose Plecostomus
(Ancistrus dolichopterus)
by Twyla Lindstrom-Peters
From "Fins & Friends" Regina Aquarium Society, Canada
Aquarticles
I initially acquired a group of four small fish about one inch long and too young to
distinguish their sexes. I wanted to be sure to get a male and female of the same species
(of which there are many!). I raised them in a seventy gallon tank with a large pair of
angels which also raised a large spawn of around 500 fry without any problems. These fish
are not aggressive to other fish, fry or aquatic animals. They thrived and grew to
maturity. I got one male out of the four fish. Males are distinguished from females by the
presence of bristles around and on their snouts.
I placed a couple of short PVC tubes in the tank for shelter of the fish and hopefully
a spawning site. Nothing happened for a long time- until I’d given up actually. At
the time, we were planning to move from Pense to Regina and I had a lot of packing and
planning to do so it was just as well that I didn’t have any extra fry to try to care
for. I swear they were eavesdropping and heard us say we’re moving, because three
days before our possession date in December, they spawned. I discovered a large cluster of
yellow-orange eggs in the small piece of PVC tubing that had been laying on the bottom of
the tank. The male was diligently watching over the eggs and fanning them with his ventral
and pectoral fins. Of all the times to spawn! Then, the eggs all hatched on our very cold
and blizzardy moving day. Fortunately, the fry just hung around the inside of the tube
while their father watched over them. The male worked really hard keeping the fry away
from the edges of the tube.
After much consideration and discussion with my friend Shara Lee, I decided to remove
the tube of fry to a smaller 2 1/2 gallon tank for the move. When the fry
hatch, they just look like an egg with a wisp of a tail wiggling about. They live off
their yolk sac for the first few days so feeding isn't an issue till then. Together, we
submersed the little tank within the large tank Then, I placed a net on each end of the
tube to keep the fry and the male together and carefully lifted the tube into the little
tank. Once released, the male was really frantic but calmed down when I darkened the tank
with a towel. The male resumed guarding and herding his fry. I added a small airstone and
kept the tank dark. We drove into town with the 'nursery' beside the car heater because
there was a bad blizzard in progress and the car was not very warm due to the wind.
Once at the new house, I filled a 10 gallon Rubbermaid container with fresh
de-chlorinated water at about 22 degrees. The little tank was then floated inside for
about 30 minutes and then gently mixed with the new water. Then, I removed the tube and
laid it on the bottom of the larger container. So far, so good, no fatalities!
Following Birgit's expert advice (another fish friend), I added a piece of clean
driftwood, a sponge filter with marbles glued to the bottom so fry can’t get trapped
underneath, and a leaf of blanched Romaine lettuce. Over the next few days, the fry zipped
about everywhere and the leaf of lettuce became riddled with tiny holes. I also began
feeding brine shrimp nauplii. Once the fry were everywhere, I removed the male and
returned him to the group of females.
The fry darken in colour over the first weeks and are completely brown by the end of
two weeks. Water changes are essential; these little fish eat a lot of lettuce, brine
shrimp and driftwood, so produce a lot of waste. I use a ½ inch piece of tubing as a
syphon. Inevitably, some of the fry get sucked up. I drain the syphon through a green net
so most of the waste goes through but it catches the fry. They can then be returned to the
tank unharmed.
By the time they are 60 days old, they are about ½ inch long or better and resemble
miniature plecos. At this age, if Romaine lettuce is unavailable, very expensive, or just
inconvenient, algae wafers are readily taken.
Literature suggests they like a pH of 6.5-7.0, hardness of 4-10 degrees General
Hardness, and a temperature of 23-27 degrees Celsius. Mine did fine in unmodified
(de-chlorinated) Regina water.
They come from the fast flowing tributaries of the Amazon. They can attain a maximum
size of 13 centimeters, but 7 centimeters is more common for aquarium raised fish. They
can change their colour from solid dark brown to marbled off-white with brown blotches
depending on their mood. Their eggs hatch about five days after spawning and will darken
slightly before hatching.
They are an excellent, unintrusive addition to any planted community tank, as they
don't eat healthy plant matter, will graze on surface algae on the glass and on the leaves
of plants, and will help clean up leftover food that makes its way to the bottom. Sinking
pellets should also be fed so they don't starve. Most fish won't bother them either.
Try a few!
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