# Bristlenose Eggs



## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

I need some serious help, guys. 
Less then a week ago, I put my female in the 75 gal with my male. He was in love instantly and took up residence in a clay cave, which he has not left since, except to grab a bite to eat. I was not sure, if they were the same kind of BN's and I did nothing to condition them, since I really did not intend for them to breed.
But today I looked in the tank and saw a pile of BN eggs in front of the cave. The male was inside the cave, tailend sticking out and fanning them. The cave is a small one made for zebra plecos. Do both BNs have to be in the cave together for a successful spawn? They would not fit. As a matter of fact, the female is a little larger and she may have a hard time squeezing in there. So she either just dropped them of in front or he pushed them out. I have never breed plecos before (I am trying with zebras and Peruvian panthers, but they are still juvies) only dwarf frogs and applesnails (I now have 8 snail clusters and I have separated the males from the females, since my puffers could not keep up with the snails supply).
Anyway, I removed the eggs and put them in a 4 gal tubberware container, added methylene blue and an airstore and a lamp to keep the water warm. I have no heater but none of my tanks are heated, so this tub should stay the same temps as all the rest.
Could they be viable eggs and do they need their dad to hatch? I have no filter in this tub, but I will go and pick up a sponge filter if it's needed and if any of them hatch. If they do, free plecos for anyone, just pay shipping or local pick up. lol
Also in case they do hatch, how soon do I need to feed them and what will they eat? I just raised an ADF tadpole (16 weeks old tomorrow and almost morphed, he has his legs and arms but still has the tail). Because of that I have a sort of small foods available. Grindal worms, baby brine shrimp (frozen and live), liquifry and first bites. Liquifry and first bites were a waste for the tadpole, he did not touch them, but now it may come in handy.

When I removed the the eggs from the water, I picked them up with my hands. I expected them to be soft and squishy, but they felt hard and stuck together in one piece. Weird feeling. Could air exposure have damaged them? They were only out of the water for about 5 seconds. How soon should they hatch? How often would I have to feed them? Any good websites for new grandparents?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, this is new for me but great practise for my future zebra farm. (hehe, wishful thinking)


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## Jonno (May 22, 2005)

The male usally stays in the cave for up to 2 weeks to defend the eggs then the new fry and usally only comes out when if panicked. After about 4-5 days the eggs hatch. At about a week old the egg sacks should have gone and this is when u should start feeding them they look idenitcal to adults apart from being small.

I wouldn't off taken the eggs away from dad because either he might get stressed and the eggs don't usally hatch unless there looked after very well. 

If you do need anymore help just ask but a brilliant site is :

http://www.planetcatfish.com

Hope this has helped.

- Jonno


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