HOW TO
Gerd box
make your own
by Darren Stevens
One of the dilemmas when breeding plecos is whether to leave the fry in with their parents or remove them to a separate rearing container: either suspended in the parents tank or another small tank. Some breeders have great success leaving the young with their parents while others prefer to rear them separately. This can depend on the type of pleco you are rearing and both methods have their advantages. I have had good success with rearing young pleco fry in a basic homemade ‘Gerd Box’. Gerd Boxes (or Gerd-Kasten in German) are named after their creator Gerd Arndt. They come in a range of models for a variety of species and rearing strategies (see the German website www. aquarienbastelei.de) but in their most basic form they are simply a small filtered container suspended in the parents tank. Gerd boxes have been used successfully by overseas breeders for many years and they offer several advantages. Not only do they save tank space but the young can be raised in the same stable water parameters they developed in, safe from other tankmates. Young plecos also seem to do much better when they are close to food. If left in the parents’ tank they may struggle to get enough to eat unless you overfeed. Obviously overfeeding can reduce water 30 ∙ Aquarium World
quality and this will in turn affect the adults and fry. Overfeeding is not an issue in a Gerd Box as long as you clean it regularly. There are several ways to make a Gerd Box but this method worked for me. All you need is a clear plastic container, a cheap two sponge or similar