Bristlenose Plecs

[Marto666]

Hi

Will baby (1cm) Bristlenose Plecs be ok in my tank? See signature below.

Seen some I want but don’t want them to be a snack for another fish! The worker in my LFS said that my full size Bristlenose would eat them, I didn’t think they would do that?

Thanks

 

[Tizer]

You got quite a few fish in there that would chomp on it if they could catch it, about 1 inch and you might be alright. i wouldnt risk it. 1cm really isnt very big, you would probably never see it, bit of a pointless addition mate.

 

[Marto666]

Thanks Tizer

You are probably right about not seeing it as despite the full size of my current plec, he seems to vanish and I rarely see him!

They looked so small, so I’m not going to risk.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[kevinjames]

the dude in your lfs is talking nonsense, the adult bn wont touch them. but at 1cm they are too small to be added to a community set up. i dont let mine go untill around 1.5 inches.

 

[Marto666]

I suspected as much. Ok, thanks.

 

[Baccus]

I have always found my male Bristlenoses to be the most dotting of parents even when the 100+ fry have changed from their yellow hatchling colour and turned black with all their little white spots. Even the females don't bother the fry. I have seen my guppies eat the young Bristlenose fry but once the fry are past 1cm or so the guppies give up. My fighter in another tank I think does scoff the odd small baby, but again usually by the time they are out in numbers munching their way over the tank they are past his snack size. I don't know if my khuli loaches ever bother the eggs or fry, I suspect not as some of the khuli loaches are always in the same ornament that one of my male bristle noses always raises the young in, and I always have large numbers of babies roaming the tank.
I don't have my gold gouramis in the tank any more and I suspect they did eat quite a few bristle nose fry and I wouldn't trust my Pakistani loaches to not eat the young Bristlenoses.

The other safe fish I have found with young bristlenoses are corys, they probably would eat the eggs if they could get them but even when I have had a heap of baby bristlenoses in the cory tank they have never bothered them.

Just some observations I have noticed in my own tanks.

General rule of thumb I go by for fish is "if the other fishes mouth is big enough to fit the small eggs/ fry in it, then it will most likely have a go at eating them".

 

[Marto666]

Thanks Baccus, some interesting observations there.

I think I would be foolish to add any BN’s to my tank at such as small size. My Blue Gouramis are pretty big now and think they may be able to squeeze one in.

I need another tank to develop them in really..

I will remember your general rule.

Cheers