Breeding tank L262

[Zeno]

I would like to setup a breeding tank for these fish
Tank measurements : 100 x 40 x 50 cm.
No sand, but plenty of hiding places, caves and wood.
I have many fish of both gender.

My question is how many fish is preferable to put in and in which proportion ? More males than females or vice versa.

Thanks, Zeno

[Erlend D Bertelsen]

L-262 are an awesome fish!

I would personally add 6 or 7 fishes, and more females that males. I have breed this fish, with that kind of setup.

E

[Zeno]

Thanks Erlend. Will try it that way. Btw, is this a setup which you prefere with all kinds of Hypancistrus ?

Zeno

[jac]

L262 have a aggressive temperament, just like L260. I have bred L260 with 1 dominant male and 2 breeding females. These where selected out of a group of 8 individuals. After killing a female and numerous fights I split the group to 1m and 2f.

My L262 male has done 2 killings now, one female died just today... And last week he killed a Sturisoma. I'm getting him out of the group as I don't want to loose anymore females due to aggression.

My advise would be to keep a larger group in a big tank. And then when mature, select a small breeding group. Best start with 2 males and at least 2 females. Chose a big tank with lots of hiding space for the females. And check your females, male and caves everyday! I lost mine in a blink of an eye.....

[racoll]

I found them to be aggressive too. I kept a pair in a 60L tank with lots of rockwork, and the male killed the female.

[Zeno]

I've put in 2 males and 4 females. When it goes the wrong way I will let you know.

Greetz, Zeno

[Barbie]

Does anyone think that the longer caves we sometimes use make the males more apt to kill females? I've had a couple really homicidal L260 over the years, and also a few that never murdered females. That issue has made me wonder for a few years now. It's pretty disheartening to let those males kill females that you know you can't replace, but it's pretty hard to get fry without them! ;)

Barbie

[Kenneth Wong]

I've been pretty lucky. I keep my group of 8 262 in a 20 gallon Long and they haven't killed anyone. There's also a dozen or so babies in there that are between 3/4 ot 1.5inches. Barbie, you will have no problem replacing those type of Hyps soon.

[pleco_breeder]

I've had to go a different route with them. I have a trio I only got less than a month ago. I've been keeping them in separate tanks till I'm sure they're ripe. I've consistently used slightly longer caves than necessary for a few years without much trouble. I did lose one female L134 last month because she apparently tried to get in the cave after having already spawned. However, have been rather lucky the last couple years aside from that incident.

My theory has been either the male or female aren't mature or conditioned well enough before a spawning attempt. Without them being on the same spawning cycle, one or the other not ready to breed, two fish can't be reasonably expected to share the same cave. That's why I believe it can be so difficult to match a pair, but there don't seem to be any more incidents once they've spawned. It also seems to explain why colonies which have been grown out together in the same tank seem to do a better job of pairing, but a wider selection of mates could also be allowing them to find another ready to spawn.

Larry

[jac]

Interesting theory Larry.
The females that got killed here were all young females... By much older males.
The L262 male that was killing my females/sturisoma was newly introduced to the group about a month ago.
The killings in my L260 breeding group was within a few months on arrival...
Mostly I buy young fish and let them grow up here, never had any problems with those spawnings.

[pleco_breeder]

I've not had much sleep so not sure I'm following your response, but could I read that as further evidence of my theory?

I've relied on the same method, large groups grown from juveniles or separating fish of the same/similar species for quite a while and it seems to have proven successful in my tanks. However, I've never really mentioned it in more than passing conversation to try to get outside input to prove or disprove if it could be considered a good "rule of thumb" for breeders.

Larry