Breeding Ancistrus sp

One of my favorite fish is the Ancistrus sp perhaps because it can populate with almost any fish population. This species comes from the Rio Tocantins in Brazil one of many extension of the huge Amazon river. The Ancistrus sp does not grow big, achieving only 8-10 cm which makes him ideal for small aquariums. I breed the Ancistrus sp in 10 gallon tank, I have got group of 3 Ancistrus 2 females and one male.

It is very easy to distinguish between males and females, the males have big snout tentacles while females have smooth snout or a few small tentacles on the snout edge.I feed them with commercial food (catfish tablets), courgette, cucumber and once in a while I gave them bloodworms. Their tank was with no gravel at all and for cave (Spawning area) I used PVC pipe, kept temperature on 27c and PH 7. I also perform water changes 2 times a week and after big water change (50%) the spawning courtship began.

The spawning courtship can last several days but after 4-6 days we can see laid and fertilized eggs. During the process the male will choose his cave and waiting the female to be ready, when it is time the male will be expelled from his cave by the female, after eggs laid the female leave the place and the male got the hang of it, he fertilizes them, wave its fins above them to keep them from fungus and protect them from other fish.After 4-5 days the eggs hatch and after a month the couple is ready to "dance" again. Unfortunately I lost the first spawn because the male was inexperienced, the eggs turn white and got fungus, the male kicked them from his cave, to my happiness it was the last time that I lost Ancistrus sp spawn. I got from my 3 Ancistrus sp more then 100 eggs in one female spawn. Their exotic look, spawning courtship and their character makes them one of the interested fish to breed.

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