Baby bristlenose

[NLindsey921]

I know it's pretty young. I just got him yesterday. But can anybody tell me if this is male or female or should I wait till it gets older. He's only about two inches long.

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[mikey11]

too early.....i hope you have a big tank

 

[NLindsey921]

He's in a ten right now but I plan on upgrading them to a 29 as soon as I get rid of my hermit crabs. They are outgrowing their tank and I do not have anywhere to upgrade them to at the moment so I am adopting them out and moving the fish to their tank.

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[NLindsey921]

How long do you think it would be until I can tell what his gender is

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[mikey11]

probably quite awhile.....

males will grow longer bristles on their lip and nose....female normally only small bristles on their lip, none on the nose, or no bristles at all,

and a 29 gallon still is not really adequate for a full grown BN

 

[Demeter32]

Actually a 29gal is about perfect for an adult BN. These fish only reach about 5-6 inches long and I have a handful myself. 2 pairs in individual 29gals, one in a 36gal and another in a 10gal (he's only an inch or so).

At around 3in you should be able to tell a BN gender. It seems that only older/larger females have bristles while the younger girls have none. Males should already be growing a face full of bristles at this size.

If this fish continues to grow past 5in then you could very well have a common pleco rather than a BN. I can't say for sure if this is a common or a BN w/o some better pictures. Usually young normal colored BN have white at the tips of their fins and their body is more compact than a common pleco's

 

[NLindsey921]

I was able to get these two pics. He's in a very bad location right now.

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[NLindsey921]

Here is a close up of his tail

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[NLindsey921]

Ok. I finally got a pic where his fins are all spread out.

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