Pleco Fry

reticulata · Post by **reticulata** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:22 am

I asked a question in this forum a while back as to removing zebra pleco fry from the adults and at what age. What about other types of plecos? I have L-333's, 260's and bristlenose. Any problem removing them and at what age?

Post by **TwoTankAmin** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:51 pm

I have always chosen to let my pleco dads raise spawns to the kickout stage. At that point moving them becomes an issue of space. I move the fry in order to prevent overcrowding and stunting. However, my experience has been that fry left in the breeding tank tend to grow faster than those I move into a growout tank.

One problem with having too many fry in a given tank is the faster growers and the more aggressive ones will tend to get more of the food. As a result some portion of the fry will become slower growers. This requires one either sell off the bigger ones or else spread them out more. As the largest ones are removed allowing the smaller ones to get more food, they will catch up.

Finally, when one is spawning pricier plecos, such as zebras, there is also the "wipeout" factor. Sometimes, you just have to spread them out simply to protect agains a single tank disaster wiping out one's entire stock.

This is just my opinion and way of doing things and i am sure others have different experiences which have worked just a well for them.

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:40 pm

up until a couple of weeks ago we raised all out fry with the parents...

we had a high mortality rate hopefully it'll improve now with a 2nd tank setup as bare bottomed

reticulata · Post by **reticulata** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:04 am

Smithrc:

Was their mortality rate due to the adults or other factors? Thank you.

Lary

smithrc · Post by **smithrc** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:40 pm

defiantly not the adults - but I haven't got to the bottom of the deaths

Post by **TwoTankAmin** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:57 pm

Just an comment here. My experience with fry has been the exact opposite of Smith's. I have had more fry losses in growout tanks than in the breeder tank.

One fry tank has gravel and a few plants and wood, the other is bare bottom (as is the breeder tank). I have experienced about the same % of losses in both growout tanks.

chanettt · Post by **chanettt** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 5:23 am

for me, i never move any frys out of the growout tank. however, i found out that by trying to make more often water change than usual causes some frys not eating and die. i have loss around half of them so far until i find out what is the problem. i am not sure what is the best way to treat frys but for me it's not the same way as other suggest in the forum.

Pleco Fry

Pleco Fry

Zebra Fry