Anasfire Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 (edited) Ok, some of you may already be aware of my frustrations with trying to breed my common BN's. I bought them a ceramic log cave and still couldn't manage to get them to work it out, the male wouldn't even go near it! Well today I noticed a tail hanging out of the cave and grabbed my torch to have a squiz down it and see if it was an inquisitive female or the male himself and low and behold it's the male!!!! he's moved into the cave and I don't think I've seen him exit all day! I took Brad’s Wayne's advice and lowered the temp 4 degrees over a period of a few days and that seems to have made a difference to them! I'll keep you posted as to whether I get fry or see the female hanging out with him in there! MERGED POST: OK I've got an update already!!!! I just had another look down his cave and he has a clump of yellow looking eggs!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG I didn't think things would go ahead this quickly!!! and isn't he supposed to be fanning the eggs with his tail? He appears to just be staring at them, he's head first into the cave..... Edited November 24, 2009 by Fighters4U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 LOL.... great news Cassi... the slightly cooler temp seems to have done the trick! He will stay with his head in the log and use his fins to fan fresh water over the eggs till they hatch and finally emerge from the log - eggs will take about a week to hatch and then about another week to use up the egg sack and emerge from the log. He won't let anyone else in his log now till the babies are gone - if you go near him he will scoot up the log and hover over the eggs to protect them. Sometimes he will come out to look for a quick snack and then straight back into the log again. It's amazing how quickly they'll do their 'thing' when they sense the right conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 YAY! Baby BNs!!! And where my dear, are the pictures of said Mr BN tending his clutch??? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 LOL... not prepared to wait for the baby photos huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 What can i say? I love photos LOL Is it sad that i have more pics of my fish on my computer than pics of my kids? In my defense - the kids will actually hold still for a photo so i don't need to take as many to get a good shot LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Ok here's a pic, the best I could do with a little help from my 8 year old. He shined the torch up the cave lol and I apologise for my earlier mess up. It was Wayne who suggested turning the temp down not Brad! Sorry Wayne. I got confused!! All fixed now I hope? Forgive me? I'm gonna need a lot of help with this lot, being that it's my first BN spawn but I'm already thinking I want a female peppermint for my male Will it be ok for me to leave the other BN in the tank? they've spawned in a community tank. There's only the BN pair, peppermint BN and clown loach in there at the moment though, no other fish I could move him in his cave to another tank if necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 LOL.... no need for forgiveness!!! Afterall... an expectant mum is allowed to get a bit fuddled isn't she??? Breeding size female peppermints are pretty exy.... about $120 - $150 each but then if you get a good sized batch of young you make that back easily after a few months when they get to selling size. Just a warning about the clown loach.... I have had a batch of albino baby bn's a couple of weeks ago .... all 30 of them have vanished without trace.... the only other inhabitants in the tank are 4 5cm long clown loaches.... enough said.... The pep male shouldn't be a problem if he has his own space under a rock. Wait for this lot to come out of the log... you'll have wagging little tails all over the glass and everywhere!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 (edited) I can't wait!!! It looks like a decent size clutch off eggs to me but I'm not exactly an expert. According to their previous owner they bred for her every 3 weeks or so, so if they keep to that schedule I'll have heaps of baby BN's soon enough! PS I was thinking of buying a few baby pepps from a breeder I know close by, that's how I have the one I've got now. Bought 4 off him back at the end of 07 but only 1 survived my idiocy and it was male! I reckon if I get another 4 I've got a good chance of at least 1 being female! They can go into the spawn tanks to do clean up duty with the snails as will the baby commons when they're big enough. I think I'll excile the clown loach somewhere....wonder if Manda wants a clown loach? lol Edited November 12, 2009 by Fighters4U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 For your commons on the nest right now - depending on their size you could have 60+ eggs or as little as a dozen if they are really young. They will breed pretty regularly if they have the right conditions though. Peps take a couple of years to get to breeding size so sooner you get a few the sooner you will have breeding size babies!!! Out of four you'd be pretty unlucky not to get at least a breeding pair. Re the clown loaches - I'm not accusing them of murder mind you.... I never saw them once with a tiny yellow tail hanging out their mouths..... but it's just that they're the only non bn fish in the tank and 30 1cm long babies vanished .... now it could have been an alien invader took them... leaving the clown loaches totally innocent .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Could be but all my BN babies disappeared when I bought the pair with their fry and the clown loach was around then too, so this happening in 2 diff tanks both with a clown loach.... I don't beleive in coincidence! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 hmm.... seems clown loaches do have blood on their whiskers then.... "points the finger and directly accuses the loach!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 Hehe I would! They'll eat anything in my opinion. I've even seen them scarffing down on algae pellets! Rotten little scavengers. The one I have doens't even keep the snail population under control! Mind you there are probably more snails breeding in there than he can keep up with lol. I should just get some snail rid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewarebrunette Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 I've got eggs from a calico and an albino. First day the log went in there was eggs.. amazing! I've got clown loaches too.. Who should be removed do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 12, 2009 Report Share Posted November 12, 2009 remove the accused loaches I think.... they do love to eat meat..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyarlla Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Congrats on the eggs! Baby bn's are sooo exciting! *wonders if its possible to get her hands on longfin calico's....* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 13, 2009 Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 Not cheap but yes possible ... seen a few go up for sale in Brisbane recently... up to $200 per pair though.... Peps seem to be the favourites of everyone still though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2009 I think the female has been back in his cave laying more eggs for him today. The clutch seems bigger and extends further towards the opening now than it did. Not to mention I saw her, coming out of the cave earlier today. I've only seen him leave the nest for a few moments at a time to snack on an algae disc and noticed him earlier on the zuccini having a nibble. I moved the cave a little last night, very gently with the end of my net, so I can see down it easier. It was on an odd angle before so now I'll be able to keep a better eye on him and his babies! I can't wait until they hatch! Here are some photo's of the breeding pair Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 I'm a little concerned, I noticed 2 of the eggs seemingly empty today. They're now a clearish white colour not the yellow they should be. They couldn't have hatched already could they? There is a snail in the cave, could the snail have sucked out the embryo and eaten them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 The male should take care of any eggs that aren't fertile and kick them out of the nest. As for snails - yes those small enough to get into the log can eat the eggs. Only put in mystery snails large enough to not fit into the log - if you have other pest snails it's worth getting rid of them if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 haha I've been waging a war against these snails for over a year! I scoop out as many as I can, usually when they're eating an algae pellet but they are persistant. I'm thinking of getting some snail rid actually but don't know if that'll harm the eggs. The snails are the cone shaped ones. Very annoying and very prolific it seems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Be careful of snail rid - it contains copper and can harm catfish / loaches etc. Normally with the snail rid it doesn't work unless you at least double dose it. Copper can also kill algae (and if big enough quantities it can harm plants). Condys Crystals works well with snails - again doesn't do fish much good in high doses. Need to use it then wash everything to get it off again. Sometimes the best thing with those snails is to strip the tank and clean it - I'm actually doing that to a few tanks of mine and throwing away the gravel or washing / bleaching / boiling it to get rid of snails and eggs. The cone shaped ones are live bearers I think but they can survive a long time without water so boiling / bleaching / or something else is needed to kill them off from gravel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anasfire Posted November 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 (edited) Yeah I think I might need to strip the tank. Or rather I might just clean out my 4ft and transfer everything to that instead. It's hardly got any gravel but it should be enough to plant the amazon swords into. I'll have to check and double check everything to make sure no snails make it into the new tank either. Then I might just give away my 3.4ft tank if I can find someone who wants it and is willing to carry it downstairs lmao. It's made of 10mm glass!!! It took 3 ppl to carry it up the stairs, well 2 people to carry it and one to push the person on the bottom end up the stairs so they didn't fall backwards! Might do it when I get back from Grafton if I can be bothered. The BN should hatch just before I leave so hopefully I'll get to see the babies before I leave! Edited November 15, 2009 by Fighters4U Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyarlla Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 OOOOHH!!! You guys have me wanting bn babies! I think my bn is actually a little lady (so much for calling her Mr Bn...). Managed to find a large male bn for sale over the weekend so just need to get my hands on a log and hopefully I will be able to share your joy :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyarlla Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 What sort of behaviour do these guys start doing when they are trying to impress a mate and breed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 The male sticks his head in a log and starts waving his tail round to attract a female. If she likes his tail she will try to get into the log to inspect it and lay eggs. If he's not ready he'll keep her out by blocking the entrance. If she's not ready she'll just stay away. Sure sign you're going to get eggs is a queue of females on and around the log. Sometimes he'll let several lay in the log and other times he'll kick out some eggs for whatever he thinks is a good reason. Once he's in the log and claimed it for his own almost nothing will get him out - even taking the log out of the tank won't get him out easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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