Spawning Ancistrus
To begin, it is important that I say that there is no "cookie cutter" method to spawning any genus of fish. This group is as diverse as any, and results can vary within a species. Therefore, this is merely a guide of how I do it. There may be better ways out there, and anyone can feel free to email me if they know of one. I'll see to it that the info gets put to good use in my fishroom at the very minimum. Just as much of this method has been gathered from other aquarists as I have learned on my own through trial and error. When put together, it has given consistent results in my tanks. I follow a very strict schedule with these fish because they seem to be capable of spawning on command. It should also be mentioned that this is what I do for the common strains: albino, red, blue eye gold, and all long fin types. Any other species may need some variance from this to be successful.
To begin, I am going to assume that the fish were only recently purchased from a pet shop. Most shops carry fish which are a size of 1 1/2 inches SL, standard length. This means that the fins are not included in the measurement. From this size on, they can be safely fed a homemade diet that I have put together over the years. This includes frozen shrimp, french- cut green beans, garlic extract, and agar. Most of these ingredients come from a grocery store, but the agar can normally be found at health food shops.
Two cups of shrimp are grated in a food processor before being mixed with the other ingredients. The green beans are then added to the shrimp. A teaspoon of garlic extract is also added. While the garlic extract is soaking into the other ingredients, I start mixing the agar. Start by heating water to just less than boiling. Put one tablespoon of agar into a glass measuring cup, and fill to the one cup mark with the hot water. This is then stirred as quickly as possible. Once the agar starts to cool, it will clump and make it difficult to get a good final mixture. As soon as the agar has dissolved, pour it in with the other ingredients and use a mixing blade to ensure that everything is mixed well. This is then poured into ice cube trays and frozen for later use.
The tank is usually already established before I get to this point. This means that it has been filled with dechlorinated tap water, cycled for a good bacterial balance, and the temperature set to 80-82 degrees. The higher temperature will help with growth if the maintenance schedule is adhered to. I also use only bare bottom tanks for spawning. This makes cleaning a lot easier.
That brings to the next topic. The tank walls and floor should be wiped down at least once a week. I do this before water changes so I can siphon anything that comes off the walls. To add to this, water changes are done every second day at a rate of approximately 20%. This is done to try to aid rapid growth in the prospective breeders. Any waste in the tank, or left- over food is removed at that time. The tank should be as clean as is physically possible.
Once the breeders have reached a size of 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches SL, the water change schedule changes. At this size, the sexes should be obvious, and may have already started spawning with the above portion of this technique. If not already spawning, I do one of two things depending on whether the females are conditioned. I'll explain what to do if they're not conditioned since both methods end the same.
If the females are not conditioned, or spawning, I cut back the water change volume to only what is needed to clean waste out of the tank. This can easily mean doing one gallon water changes every second day. The tank walls are still cleaned, and kept spotless. This is mimicking a dry season. Slowly, the water gets older, and nutrients build up. After 3-4 weeks, the condition should be degraded enough to start with the rest of the technique.
Before proceeding, you should have spawning caves ready for the breeders. In the case of Ancistrus, I use clay pots that are normally used for house plants. Four inch pots seem to work well for all but the largest specimens, and I've even had 5 inch pairs use them to spawn. I soak these for 2-3 days in a bucket of water. This softens them and makes them easier to cut. At that point, it's time to pull out my trusty Dremel and fiber enforced cutting wheels. Measure the body of the male, across the pectoral and vertical. Do not include fins in these measurements. The hole should be only slightly larger than these measurements and squared. Placement is also important. I cut just below the rim of the pot. By creating this small barrier, eggs and fry appear to be less likely to be kicked out prematurely. The pot is then inverted, and the water drain hole is plugged by using either a hot glue gun or silicone caulk. If using silicone, make sure to allow it to cure for a few days before adding it to the tank. By placing this in the tank upside down, you've made a perfect Ancistrus cave.
Start by picking the day of the week which you have the most free time for fish work. Doing water changes every 2 days, that day will be your water change day every second week. Go back to doing the 20% water changes every second day using dechlorinated tap water and re-set the heater to 78 degrees. Whenever your day falls on a water change day, change 50% of the tank water with a 50/50 mix of reverse osmosis and dechlorinated tap water. If you do not have reverse osmosis, just using tap will often work. You also want to make sure that you drop the temperature by 5-10 degrees with this change. Under normal circumstances, the fish will spawn 3-4 days after this large change.
Once the fish spawn, their diet is changed to prevent the fry from getting too much protien. If the fry are removed to a separate tank, continue feeding the breeders on the same diet. If the fry are to be raised with the parents, I simply stop adding the shrimp to the recipe above. Instead, a single shrimp is dropped into the tank with feedings on the day I'm not doing water changes. This cuts down the protien, but is enough to keep the breeders going constantly.
