Breeding plecos

[dal 9tanks]

so far i have managed to breed common bristle nose,peppermint bristle noses,common plecs
and now im about to try queen arabesques,as you can prob tell i love plecos,i find them a very chalanging fish to breed and there are many different methods you can use.
with the queens im going to try and get them to spawn using a false dry season method,whereby over a 2 week period i will remove water from the tank on a daily basis,until only 1/3 water remains,then i will rapidly refill the tank with water,and await results,i have used this method with my common plecs and found they spawned within 3 days also i like to add leaves to the tank to lower the ph,dim the lights,and turn up the water current,i have found this to be an advantage.
i will keep you posted on what happens with the queens,you never know maybe one day the holy grail for me(baby zebra plecs) i can but dream :grin: :grin:

 

[Duncan]

Hi dal,

I've got a wee question how do you sex a common pleco, I've got one in my tank, I'm fair taken with plecos

Duncan

 

[adeyc]

Our Austrailian freinds the one to answer this lot but he aint been heard of for months. PHIL WHERE ARE YOU!!!!

 

[dal 9tanks]

there are numerous forms of sexual dimorphism,dependent on which species,some are very easy to sex,like the ancistrus(bristle noses)the males as a rule tend to have numerous tentacles on the head,but most females only tend to have small tentacle extentions around the lip.
but with other representatives of the pleco genus,its not that easy to tell,with these you have to look closer for more subtle differances(look for things like)
(1)ODONTODAL GROWTH(calcified conical structures)which resemble comb like teeth,the males of most species display an intensified development of such odontodals during breeding seasons.
there are however some quite extreme examples of sexual dimorphism,like large spines,hairs and denticales,found to be more present on males than females,
and for those which are still unidentifiable,try looking at thier genital papila,with most females you will find it to be quite round and flat,with males by comparison are much smaller and much more pointed.
or when none of they above works,then cheat like i sometimes have to do,and buy three or four fish,and let mother nature go to work!!