Peppermint Bn Breeding Tank

[Alasse]

This tank is not for display, it is home to my Pep breeding colony. There are 6 adults in there. 2 definite males and 2 definite females, and 2 suspected females (very shy fish and i dont like to disturb them to find out lol)
 
Not a current pic. Decor in tank is now covered in a lovely layer of green algae, thanks to 24/7 lighting (yes i wanted it in there, good for the fry and shrimp)

 
One of the boys in his log

 
I notice tonight i have fry!! Very very excited as these BN are very fussy to breed. Not sure on numbers, as daddy bn has only started releasing them from the log. Hopefully now they have re-started breeding they will keep at it!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Congrats- according to Planetcat, breeding of these guys is "unreported" http/www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=1249
 
Considering the list there of keepers, I find the unreported status hard to believe though especially since three of them report having spawns. So I must assume PC needs to update that comment.

 

[Alasse]

Definitely need to update...once you get em breeding they tend to keep going.
 
They take 2 yrs to mature enough to start breeding...and my original pair did just that, sold all but 2 of the fry. I moved the adults to another tank and they refused to breed for another 2 yrs lol, by that stage the 2 i kept were old enough to join the colony. I bought 2 more to add to the colony. They bred late last year, but i didnt notice fry until i had moved them to this tank, of course fry didnt survive the move (tank was too clean). And now there is this new batch.

There are no more planned moves, so i am hoping they will keep going as the fry are a great money maker (for buying more tank stuff *L*)

 

[TallTree01]

Peppermints are so pretty. Looking forward to seeing some fry hopefully.

 

[Alasse]

So last night i find a new batch of eggs, been kicked out, so rescued em and now hanging in a net in front of filter flow. The colony has got their groove on now!!

 

[sawickib]

Can you pm me pics of all the peppermints???!?!? Plz
 
ANd congrats on all the babies!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alasse]

I dont have many pics of them, they tend to be very shy and elusive. I admit i tend to leave their tank alone, except for weekly maintenance.
 
I will try for some pics of them this weekend, no guarantees though lol, They really are very good at disappearing when anyone goes near the tank

 

[sawickib]

Their so cute id love to make a colony, are they really expensive, and need a large tank for this?

 

[Alasse]

They cost quite a bit. They are dropping in price though over the years, as demand lessens. I have 2 pairs with 2 smaller just coming to breeding size ( i haven't caught them to confirm their sex) So 6 all up i think lol plus the fry
 
The tank they are in is 3.5ft, i had it custom made. A breeding pair can be kept in a 2ft tank (20gal)

 

[Alasse]

Grabbed a quick pic of this tank tonight.....remember this is not for display so scuse algae (which i encourage with 24/7 lighting), and it is holding some plants at present too
 

 
Cherry shrimp explosion!!

 

[TallTree01]

Looks good Alasse, cherry shrimp very colorful.
Any close ups of the peppermints?

 

[Alasse]

So i have a planaria outbreak in this tank...they have to go....so have ordered some planaria killer, which will hopefully be here soon.
 
The little sods are decimating my cherry shrimp!!! The tank has gone from hundreds to maybe 20 or so if its lucky, thankfully i have other in different tanks, but not happy with losing my main colony!!
 
I may move the Peps to another tank while i treat this one. I have heard it could possibly kill off the snails, and this tank is crawling with MTS, a mass death of them will not be good for fish!

 

[Alasse]

This tank was literally crawling with planaria!! I removed all the rocks/wood, these will get the boiling vinegar water treatment tonight. Sand removed and is sitting in hot vinegar water, slowly been hand removing many of the MTS, holy moly, they are every where. Note: MTS do not like being put in straight vinegar lol.
Plants are all in another bucket, these will get treated tonight with a vinegar dip. 
The Pep adults are in a holding container, and not amused by that at all
The baby Peps have been moved to the 2.6ft Gourami tank
The surviving RCS are in with the peps (i over estimated, there would be lucky to be 10 left)
The filter/heaters etc are soaking in hot vinegar water. Being that i have just esentually nuked the filter, i'm gonna squeeze some goodies from another into the sponges to kick start em again.
 
The tank itself has been emptied, and i tossed in a bottle of vinegar, oh boy planaria dont appreciate that! The tank will stay like that until i get home from work
 
Once the planaria medication arrives, i will still treat the tank to make sure i got em all.
 
Now as to why they appeared, once i removed things i can see a few dead spots where mulm and food has been sitting, and quite an amount of it. So on resetup, i will be changing things around and adding a small powerhead down low to keep things moving on the substrate. So yep i have been doing 50%WC on the tank weekly, but this hidden stuff has not been removed properly. The tank certainly will not have the same amount of hardscape in it next time around

 

[Alasse]

Sand has been boiled in vinegar water, i am sure some of the MTS survived even that lol
Some of the wood has been boiled in vinegar water
Tank has been filled and is currently emptying, with no sign of the planaria so far (and it was literally wall to wall until the vinegar hit it)
 
I will refill the tank tonight, add sand, drop in a heater and the filter and bring it up to temp overnight
Will add some of the boiled wood
 
None of the plants will go back in until the container they are in is treated, i can see there is planaria on them (i've ran out of vinegar lol)
 
I WILL win this battle!!

 

[sawickib]

Haha i hope you do alasse, sorry you had to go through this