Long story short... I had a bunch of bristlenose in a community tank, to get them comfortable to breed I rehomed all my livebearers, large corys and sucking loach.
However the biggest problems were my two synodontis monsters who constantly fought and stole food at dinner time!

I have FINALLY rehomed the synodontis together to someone online and now I just have...
2 adult females
2 adult Males
2 Albino youngsters, almost adult size, at a guess I think ones male and ones female, but unsure at this time.

These are living as they are in a planted tank 125 litre with 4 slate breeding caves.

As of yet, they arent really showing any interest in eachother at all, but is it too early to be making judgments? I only rehomed the synodontis less than a week a go.

I feed the bristles on algae wafers, shrimp pellets, cucumber, and frozen bloodworm and brocoli occasionaly.

Is the ratio of males to females ok, or should I buy another female? They are easily available around me fortunately.

Also, another worry I have is that the largest female is over 4 years old. I took her from my partners house as she was being kept in a coldwater tiny tank since being a baby! Since I have had her, she has shot up in size and her character is really loud! She is always the first to come out and fights with the lads which I read is unusual for a female....
Do you think she is too old to breed?

Any suggestions? Tips? THANKYOU

Do the 2 adult males show signs of having their own territories at the moment, if they do then you could keep them with 3 females. If your young albino is a male then he may be bullied by the other males when he becomes a threat to them. If you find your not having any success with 2 males then try with just 1.

Shrimp pellets or Bloodworm should really only be fed once a week, twice if conditioning for breeding, I'd also try a few more different veg if your not already.

Some females can often hold there own against males and breed at over 4 years old.

What livebearers did you have, I've kept mine with Endlers with no problems.

One of the males has his own cave, the other sort of changes his choice over caves.

I had a swordtail, platys and mollies before. Harmless, yet I thought the cats would be more settled without them.

I only have two adult females, so should I get another? The males don't fight or seem bothered by eachother at all in the tank which is another reason I don't think they are showing breeding signs =/

Thanks for the reply!

I don't know how old or the size of your albinos but if they are still small you could try a third female, maybe new fins on the block will spark a reaction from your males

Hi again! The biggest albino is about 7cm long, the other about 6cm. They are from the same litter so ill have to rehome one when theyre old enough to breed I think to avoid interbreeding!
The adult male (one of them) has once again swapped caves haha but at the moment they both seem to be at the opening of the cave on their backs with just their heads inside :S
Is this normal? One is wafting his fins, but I'm not sure why they arent all the way inside the caves!

Ill pick up another female when I can, but I'm gonna wait a few weeks to let them get used to easy living without the synodontis

Thanks again, Abbie

my males rarely go all the way inside there caves unless there fleeing from some thing or someone. I think they do it also when they are trying to attract a female to enter there cave or to show the other male its his cave DONT COME NEAR HERE . When my female shows signs of holding eggs its hard to get my male out of his cave unless its feeding time. He will sit there 1/2 out waving his tail til the female gets close then he backs out to let her inside.
I'm by no means an expert on these guys but I have had 3 spawns from my Bn's with the male guarding eggs as I type this . My tank holds 3 Bn plecos. 2 males 1 female..and 12 Melanotaenia maccullochi rainbows and 5 Denison barbs in a 75g.Hope this helps