Bristle nose question ( just added video)

[lloyd378]

So my albino bn had babies..... About 30 of them. I was surprised to see that some are albino, some are brown, and some are calico; but that's not what this post is about.

I was doing a water change earlier this week and noticed that I was missing a few of the babies. At first I thought maybe on of my small loaches went rogue or one of my Cory cats developed a taste for blood. That's when I noticed I had anywhere between 4-7 babies in each of my AC70 hang on the back filters.

So my question is..... How did they make it through the impeller without being turned into sushi.also, what can I put over the filter intakes that won't decrease flow but will also keep the babies out of the filter?

Thanks in advance. I may upload a pic if I can get one of them swimming in the filter

 

[L190]

Re: Bristle nose question

Maybe those were the lucky ones? I have found some dead guppies in my filter and some live ones when my filter cap fell off my fluval. You can try some mesh on the intake, big enough to not clog but small enough to keep fish out. I saw a youtube video of a guy making some out of stainless steel mesh.

 

[Chiisai]

Re: Bristle nose question

Hey Lloyd, glad to hear those BR are spawning. Is are they the ones you got from me? If so i am sorry i forgot to warn you lol. I have the same issue with finding the babies in the fluval canister filter i have on their tank. For me i have found those mesh media bags rubber banded over the intake seems to keep them at bay. Although it means a bit of extra maintenance as the bag gets kinda gross after a week or so. Eith way glad to hear about the spawn!

 

[lloyd378]

Re: Bristle nose question

Not sure if they are from you or not.... The males came from starrider and I received a couple of females from betty too.

Thanks for the idea of the mesh. I will look into fixing that in the am as the male is guarding a new batch..... Also wondering if my 3" clown loaches would be capable of eating them?!? I'm going to rearrange the tank tomorrow to get an accurate head count of the babies I have left

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

Re: Bristle nose question

I use plastic window screen from the hardware store to block mine. I had the same issue with my grow out tanks. One those start breeding they won't stop. I have 150+ fry right now. I get a new batch monthly. but that's what I wanted.

 

[Betty]

Re: Bristle nose question

I've found mine in filters as well -- some "babies" that were way too big to go through the intake slats. I wondered if they could have gone up the outflow of water?? I know they didn't grow up in the filter because I dumped some out one day and found more the next day. :shock:

I use tulle from the fabric store or walmart's fabric department to cover the intake. It's very inexpensive, so I cut pieces and toss them after they get too dirty. I usually run the intake hose over them during water changes to remove most of the stuff that collects there.

 

[flamechica]

Re: Bristle nose question

I use tulle from the fabric store or walmart's fabric department to cover the intake. It's very inexpensive, so I cut pieces and toss them after they get too dirty. I usually run the intake hose over them during water changes to remove most of the stuff that collects there.

I was just going to suggest the same thing. That or panty hose works too. I've used both when I used to raise guppy fry.

 

[ArtPleco]

Re: Bristle nose question

hmm, for how much plecos poop i would think it would clog quick.. especially on those who love to eat wood and make sawdust water

 

[lloyd378]

Re: Bristle nose question

Art pleco, haha. Sawdust water......

While rearranging the tank I found about 15-16 swimming around and with the 3-4 I could see in each filter, I don't think I'm missing too many.

The good news was there is still a nice mix of the calico, brown, and albino. Plus the big male is guarding some young free swimmers in his cave ( batch #2)

 

[flamechica]

Re: Bristle nose question

hmm, for how much plecos poop i would think it would clog quick.. especially on those who love to eat wood and make sawdust water

Probably anything you put over the intake is going to clog up fairly quick unfortunately, but the options suggested will be better than those intake sponges. Those clog REALLY quick... I HATE those! Tulle is probably one of the better options since it is really cheap, unless your wife or girlfriend has old panty house with runs in them that she is going to throw out. You can just throw either away when it gets clogged and replace it with new.

 

[ShortyKiloGyrl]

Re: Bristle nose question

I breed plecos and feed a quality food and have pretty clean tanks

 

[lloyd378]

Re: Bristle nose question

I added some tulle as I have more free swimmers now. Making this the second batch in alittle over a month ... Enjoy the video!

http://youtu.be/_KYJnjAA3WQ[youtube][/youtube]

 

[flamechica]

Very cool! They are so cute.

 

[Betty]

Congrats on all the babies. I noticed that there are a lot up top at the water line. I sometimes clip food up there so they get enough to eat until they start exploring around the tank. Usually fresh veggies or a string or two of french-style green beans like in this photo. You can see all the munching that has been going on.

 

[ArtPleco]

Hahaha

 

[lloyd378]

Never thought of feed them at the surface. What Vegis give the most bang for your buck? I know for iguanas but have never fed fresh Vegis to my fish before

 

[L190]

I feed mine green beans and zucchini, once in a while I'll thoss in some earthworm pellets

 

[Betty]

They will eat just about any fresh vegetables. Zucchini and leaf lettuce and canned french-style green beans are easy to clip at the top with a suction cup. I think a variety is best, but I do the veggies at the top waterline in addition to regular feedings.

 

[ArtPleco]

Ours are too spoiled. Don't like broccoli no mushroom. No carrot no lettuce though I can try others. No peas only cucumber and zucchini