Bristlenose Pleco

[Ally555]

Hey everyone,
Today I went to my LFS and bought a Bristlenose Pleco. It's only around 2 to 3 cm long including it's tail. I never knew they were so small.

Any, I want to know if there is anything that I need to know about Bristlenose Pleco's?

P.S. How do you put photo's on this forum, cos I might put some pics of the pleco or my other fish on the forum?

 

[Mr Bliss]

Hi,
that's a juvenile bristlenose. They'll grow to ~5 inches.

Check out the bristlenose profile here:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=42932

 

[Ally555]

How big do they have to be before you can determine the sex of a bristlenose pleco?

 

[Ally555]

Hey again,
Sorry I forgot to ask a few questions.

Do BN Plecos eat green algae?

Also,
My little BN sucks on the side of the tank, but he doesn't seem to get any shrimp pellets that I put in there. The other bottom feeders (and non-bottom feeders) eat all the food.

How can I make sure my Pleco gets enough food?

 

[raptorrex]

After the bristles develop?

 

[Mr Bliss]

Yeah only the males develop bristles on top of their nose. Females have small bristles, but only around their mouth. The size at which they develop seems to vary a bit.

They do eat green algae. You should also give it some vegetables. Bristlenoses can be finicky eaters sometimes; it may take them a while to start eating food they're not used to, but cucumber seems to be a big favorite. Cut a piece of cucumber, stick a stainless steel fork through it for weight, so it stays on the bottom and leave it in the tank for a few hours. The bn should start chewing the soft part in no time (unless it's like my latest bristlenose, who took a long time before she agreed to taste her veggies). My BN currently loves blanched zucchini (fresh is accepted too, but not quite as enthusiastically), blanched sweet potato and fresh lettuce, in addition to cucumber. Fresh veggies can be left in the tank overnight, blanched stuff only for a few hours tops as they can quickly spoil the water. Mine mostly gets cucumber on two days, then a chunk of sweet potato overnight on the third day, and then she gets to be one day without food (or rather, looking for algae and leftovers of whatever the other fish have been eating).

 

[Ally555]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for answering my question.

I bought some driftwood today. I heard that it helps BN Pleco's digest their food. I think my BN likes it cos he was sucking on it before.

I'll get some cucumber soon and see if he likes that.

Are BN Pleco's meant to sit on the gravel of my tank?
cos mine never seams to sit down, he's always sucking on the glass or filter.

 

[Mr Bliss]

They're pretty active when young. As they get older they get lazier. In my experience BNs don't spend a lot of time on the gravel/sand, preferring surfaces they can get a hold of with their mouth, such as the glass or plants or bogwood. There's always some algae and bacteria growing on these surfaces that the bristlenose presumably eats.

 

[Ally555]

I read on one of the other forums that you can feed BN's broccoli stumps.
I tried that tonight but had no luck. Will my BN be alright if it only eats algae until it decides to eat the food that I give it?

 

[lilfishie]

try feeding just before you turn the lights off, then it should find the food before the other fish

 

[Mr Bliss]

I think your BN may be too young to eat uncooked broccoli stump. The bigger ones have powerful mouths, but small bristlenoses have trouble even with the firm part of cucumber. My BN is two and a half inches long, and will only nibble on the softest parts of cooked broccoli and cauliflower.

 

[Ally555]

The Broccoli stump was cooked (well, put in water and in the microwave for 2 minutes) but not even my other fish, who eat just about anything, would even taste it.

I put frozen bloodworms in the tank this morning and I saw my BN eat at least 1. He might have eaten more when I wasn't watching.

I've heard quite alot of different veggies that pleco's can eat.
I'll write a short list (tell me if there are any that they can't have or veggies that I missed):
cucumber
zucchini
broccoli
cauliflower
sweet potato
I think that's about it.

 

[Ally555]

I forgot to ask this question on my last post. Oops
Should the skin (or outside) of the cucumber, zucchini, ect. be taken of?

 

[raptorrex]

I forgot to ask this question on my last post. Oops
Should the skin (or outside) of the cucumber, zucchini, ect. be taken of?

well, no. but it needs left in longer than most like to do, though why escapes me. plus its better to let it go slightly soft, through age, than cook it.

 

[Ally555]

I'm not sure if I completely understand what you mean. Sorry!!!

Do you mean 'give the Pleco cucumber that is slightly old'.