bristlenose catfish breeding

hey guys

i want to breed bristlenose catfish i have a male and a female . i have been conditioning with cucumber , blood worm and basic bottom feeding pellets . i have not had any luck . they are more than a year old and have definitely reached spawning age .they are currently in a community tank with tetras ,and upside down catfish and angles . there is a pvc pipe in there to breed as well as wood and a cave .
my ph is 7.8-8 and temp is at about 26 . any tips ? should i put up a breeding tank with a sponge filter ?

i will keep this post updated and share my successes

 

How do you know they are at spawning age. Any pics if both.

 

what I do: change +-50% of tankwater with cooler water. Make sure the its a high current to disturb the surface to mimic the rain season. The next day I feed bloodworm. there after I feed sera wafers that contain alderwood (cant remeber the name). Make sure you have a cave and after a couple of days you will see eggs

 

@DoubleDutch they are both about 12 cm long and i have owned them about 5-6 months and when i bouth them the owner said he had them about a year. will post pics asap.
@Nick thanks a lot will try it this after noon .

 

Drop your ph to 7

 

@Khalid will this help ? Cuz no spawn yet

 

Add babymarrow to their diet, more nutrional value then cucumber. They should spawn from about a year old.

 

@HennieRoux i have got one in there

 

yep, wouldn't say it if it aint gonna help

 

Thanx will keep posted

 

Do all ancistrus breed in the same manner?

 

To me they are and notorious crossbreeders !

 

No luck on the breading yet :/ dont know wats yp with these two

 

Feeding them protein as well?

 

I would like to know, is it normal for them to hold eggs if they are still very young? My female is only a couple of months old, don't think she's a year yet, she's not even 10cm and her belly is full of eggs?? She was in with my guppies but moved her to my community tank where the male is when I saw she was full of eggs. Then I read up and also read that they need to be at least one year old?

 

Do you see eggs or is it only bloated!

 

Post a good picture of the female

 

I'll try and get a pic when I get home from work. She is not bloated, at least I don't think so. She looks exactly like the photo's I have seen and she's been that way for about 2 weeks now. She eats and swims normally.

 

Went to see a guy about some shrimp last night and he has a very successful breeding programme with a veiltail bristenose and normal bristlenose. There were three tanks with 3 different generations. Sure he could help - send me a pm if you want his number.

Oh and ofcourse I brought two veiltail juveniles home with 15 ghost shrimp

 

Ok, so last I asked if my BN could be ready to spawn? She is still small but I read it takes about two years for them to be fully grown. SOOOOO I had seperated them in another tank with cave and everything but they weren't breeding...moved them back to main tank. about three weeks thereafter I cleaned out the tank really good, taking out the driftwood and when my fiance lifted up the log, there they were SEVERAL TINY BN BABIES stuck to the log!!! They must have spawned soon after getting to main tank as the babies were already about 1cm big and so freaking cute!! I'll post a photo.