Bullied Bristle nose cat fish

[Attenbruh]

My Bristle nose catfish has been bullied by my 7 neon tetras (I had 11 but 4 died of neon tetra disease). He won't come out of his cave and isn't eating (When I put his food in) as the neon tetras have been eating it. How can I get him to eat his food and stop the bullying?

 

[Fishmanic]

What are you feeding the BN

 

[Fishmanic]

You could put an algae wafer in or near his cave while you drop flakes in the tank for the neons.

 

[Attenbruh]

You could put an algae wafer in or near his cave while you drop flakes in the tank for the neons.

I am feeding him algae wafers but the neons seem to want his food first, I was thinking of putting his food in after dark whilst the neons are resting, would that work?

 

[Attenbruh]

She also has wounds on his body but I'm not sure why. I was looking at the "salt water" treatment however she is around 11 months old (estimate) and very small. Should I do that?

 

[DoubleDutch]

I seriously doubt it is bullied by neons and that is causing the issue. Maybe the neons swarm around it and eat of the wounds.

Provide some vegs in there for it.
Anxious to see the mentioned wounds

 

[Attenbruh]

Ok I will try feeding her some veg. It may be a stretch to say the neons are bullying him but many of them are very territorial and whilst watching them, there has been some behaviour where they pick on certain fish as a group. I doubt they are picking on her but whenever they come near she scatters. This may just be because she is a very skittish fish but I'm not sure.

 

[Attenbruh]

I seriously doubt it is bullied by neons and that is causing the issue. Maybe the neons swarm around it and eat of the wounds.

Provide some vegs in there for it.
Anxious to see the mentioned wounds

Also I'm sorry but I can't send you the ACTUAL mention wounds. tib she is hiding in her rock until ten or so at night so I can't see her. But I will send some similar pictures from the wed. I have only seen them when she wriggles around under her rock which is really hard to picture.

 

[Attenbruh]

 

[Attenbruh]

It is similar to that but more on her back. And a bit more wide spread. I believe that it is due to her back rubbing against the gravel in her crevasse / cave.

 

[DoubleDutch]

It is similar to that but more on her back. And a bit more wide spread. I believe that it is due to her back rubbing against the gravel in her crevasse / cave.

This in not a pic of your fish I assume ?
Edit : no it is not.

It is not a good idea to diagnose based on a "similar" looking thing.
The fish in the pic has a bacterial issue to me.

 

[Attenbruh]

I seriously doubt it is bullied by neons and that is causing the issue. Maybe the neons swarm around it and eat of the wounds.

Provide some vegs in there for it.
Anxious to see the mentioned wounds

This in not a pic of your fish I assume ?
Edit : no it is not.

It is not a good idea to diagnose based on a "similar" looking thing.
The fish in the pic has a bacterial issue to me.

No Its not my fish. She hides so I can't see her. But last night I got rid of her cave and put 2 wafers in. 1 for the neon's and the other for the bn. And when I woke up at around ten she was eating her one and the neons were resting. She is currently on the glass of the tank and sleeping. Her "Wounds" were still there but had healed remarkably. I think it may have just been camouflage but there was still some wounds.

 

[Attenbruh]

Thank you for your suggestions. It really helped. I also fed her some veg and she loved it.

 

[Byron]

You must provide some type of shelter or hiding sport for plecos like Bristlenose, as they "expect" this and will be more stressed if they do not have a place of their own. Avoid sharp rock. Wood is best, the Malaysian Driftwood sold in many fish stores is ideal. BN also must have real wood on which to graze, it is necessary for their intestinal health. They do not eat the wood for nourishment, but grazing it gives them some internal bacterial aid.

 

[Attenbruh]

I have lots of drift wood in the tank as well as some artificial caves (3 of them). The tank is full over algae that I clean every now and again but she usually keeps it at bay. When choosing the plants for the tank I filled it with species that would be native to the area. I am planning on getting more plants in my tank but I have 4 different species of plants.