Bought a breeding pair of lemon bristlenoses, and put them in a community tank with a couple of small common plecs, female bettas, and 4 corys. The tank is in my garage.After a couple of days I added a slate cave, and they bred within a day. The female bettas were sneaking into the cave when daddy wasn`t looking, and I lost the lot. I have removed the bettas, and 2 common plecs. There are 4 caves in the tank. The female looks gravid, I think. It has been 8 weeks since they last bred. I have fed them as I should. I noticed the male is constantly in the breeding cave, but if you go near the tank he dives into another darker cave. I have done constant cold water changes. I moved the cave at a 45 degree angle to the front of the tank, and put lots of plants in front of it.I left the light out for 2 days, and stayed out the garage. I went in last night for a peek, and the male and female were both in the cave. RESULT, no I went in today and the male is in his chill out cave....I GIVE UP. I think i`ll leave them to it now, naturally.

Hi,I have a few questions if that is o.k.

What temp is the tank at,have you got wood in the tank,what are the caves made of that you have added and what size are they,what are you feeding and have you any pics of the set up?

patience is a virtue mate leave them to it you will have fry all the time.....

Hey sorry to hear your having troubles, it's always that first spawn that's the hardest, but once they spawn/raise fry happily they will get into a good rythem of breeding and you need to do much at all.

It was a good move taking out the other preditor fish, sorry to hear they stole your first spawn.

As everybody has said, it sounds like it would be a good idea to let them settle for a while and make sure they are happy with their home. Just keep up with your weekly wc's and in a fortnight-month or so do a larger cold water change and perhaps 10% the day after as well and you should have a spawn.

It would be good to hear the parameters of the tank so we can make sure everything is in prime condition as well.

Don't give up!

Dont give up that easily i just posted a topic about me not giving up. Its probably your male not being ready for it again.
I have some young males 8cm (thought to be mature) and mature females anout 12cm and the males love the caves but they dont take note to the females at all. Ive noticed that males are always the ones who choose when they want to breed, females are always ready to go again after a month but have to wait for the male to get his timing at the right moment.

Post some pictures up of everythign if you can its always good for everyone to have a look at your setup and make some sugestions.

They always have a habit of spawning when you least expect it, leave em too it and they will breed

Try doing a cool water change to coincide with a drop in atmospheric pressure, If your getting this recent warm weather in Scotland but when it looks like breaking then that will be a good time.

If you do decide to leave them to it the period between now and the end of the year is always concidered a good time for spawning.

Thanks for the replies. The temp is 77 degrees. I feed them cucumber for 2 days, pleco wafers for a day, day off, then bloodworms, then peas next day. There is wood in the tank.

Tank is a 120 litre. water quality is ok.

I did try the cold water changes when the weather turned stormy.

He is constantly in the breeding cave, she sometimes lies in front of the cave.

I have put a piece of wood across the tank to block out outside movement. Is this a good idea? the tank is at floor level.

How do you post pictures?

Hi,i would up the temp a bit to 80-82 if it was me.How come they are at floor level if you don't mind me asking?

Another technique I learnt when trying to get my pep bn to breed was to lay a piece of wood over the entrance to the cave. Seems the female like to use it to ambush the waiting male lol.

I have upped the temp, and placed the wood at the front of the cave. Do you want it tight against the cave only leaving 1/2 an entrance. Now I can`t see into the cave.

The tank is on a rack, and being the biggest, is at the bottom. The rest have male bettas in them.
I have loaded a picture, waiting on approval, of the setup.

When I said I was giving up, I meant leaving them to it rather than "forcing" them to breed.

So frustrating when they bred 2 days into the tank, with all the distractions, and now nothing

Your pics have now been approved

My tank setup

Hi,one problem could be because the caves you have supplied are on the bottom of the tank on the sand instead of a total enclosed cave,they seem to much prefer an enclosed cave that isn't on substrate.Quite a few people say they have problems using this type of cave.