Peppermint Bristlenose Colony's tank

[alasse]

Finally these guys have got their groove on....

Their home


Pep fry (about 1cm long)


A different view


Eggs with eyes and a tail

[devonjohnsgard]

Hey, so are you breeding these pep fry? I mean are you just putting a male and female together and then getting the eggs? Do you have to remove ether of them once the eggs are laid?

[Carl]

Wow, great job on breeding Peppermint Bristlenose Plecs!!

It does not look like there are other fish in this tank, is it committed to just breeding the Peppermint Bristlenose?

Carl

[alasse]

Yeppers, they are a bit touchy to get to breed, not like normal BN. They take 2 yrs to mature to breeding age. Due to the maturing thing they are quite expensive here.

The 3 males and 3 females live in with the fry (the fry require the parents faeces to get the required bacteria in their guts, if not kept with the parents first up the mortality rate is pretty much 100%). I keep the fry in the tank they are born in until they are around 2-3cm, then they move to different tanks.

I have red cherry shrimp in this tanks too, these guys help keep the eggs clean and will actually pinch some and look after them *L*)

This tank was custom made just for these guys, so no other fish are kept in here It is purely a breeding tank.

[angelminx]

[Of your close-up]: He sure is a cute little guy! I've got a juvenile albino, "generic"(?)--he was sold to me as an "albino bushynose". He's about an inch and a half long now. I named him Selleck. (Before the ice storm a few years ago that caused me to lose all my fish, I had a clown pleco named Emmett.) He was a devil to catch when I first got him (before I got my breeder net); I wanted to treat for worms, just in case, but he was so small, and fast, and hard to "pry off the glass". He was not even 1 1/4 inches long. Now I notice that every once in a while (especially noticable when he's on the front glass of the 55 gallon) he "displays" bristles on his "cheeks", but I can't see any anywhere else. They look like he has a little white brush (kind of like BBA) on each side. One thing about him though, and I don't know if this is a deformity or has to do with what species he is, but the front 2/3s or so of his body is fairly wide, then abruptly narrows for the last section ( a little ways after all his fins), almost like he has a stick for a tail. I didn't notice this when I got him, but that doesn't mean he wasn't always like that. Once he got settled in, he became fairly active, and when he's not grazing he spends a lot of time resting by the air stone, but only occassionally in the bubble stream.

[alasse]

Selleck sounds like he may actually be a she lol

[angelminx]

That's what I'm guessing, too!

[angelminx]

Hi, Alassse!

I just realized that I forgot to ask you if you know the species name of you Peppermints, or what their adult size is. Also, are they mainly the herbivorous or the carnivorous variety of pleco?

Thanks.

Angelminx

[Deleted]

I want some Peppermints! Pretty please (smile).
I can only admire those as they are always around $39.00 or so (each) when I see them. I learned my lesson. I bought a Colombian Zebra Pleco for $29.00 (or so). It had a fourteen day guarantee -- but died around day 16 or so....I was pretty sure my clown pleco and loaches murdered it, though. That clown has to be the only pleco in the tank where it lives (a 20 gallon).

Thanks for sharing, "alasse".

Cheers,

Judy

[alasse]

Jan 21, 2015 14:42:26 GMT -5 angelminx said:

Hi, Alassse!

I just realized that I forgot to ask you if you know the species name of you Peppermints, or what their adult size is. Also, are they mainly the herbivorous or the carnivorous variety of pleco?

Thanks.

Angelminx

I assume you mean the L number Australian Peps are known as L071. My largest male is around 16.5 - 17cm, he is around 7+yrs old

They are mainly herbivorous.

Link to info

[devonjohnsgard]

Interesting. Is this one of your only breeding projects? Do you have an overall goal with all these tanks?

[alasse]

I really only purposely breed the peppermint and the common (with albino gene) bristlenose, Cherry shrimp are another thing I breed. These guy finance most of my fishy stuff.

No overall goal, its just something I enjoy doing

[angelminx]

I followed you link, and printed the info, unfortunately, the pictures won't print...too bad, there a some really nice ones. I like the 2 where they are holding the adults (also the 2 babies and the pair)!