My First Catfish!

[TekFish]

Due to what he has started doing to my algae I have named it 'Nom' to be changed [when gender is apparent] to either Mr or Mrs Nom.
It's a Bristlenose Catfish, should do absolutely fine, my friend who I got him from lives just down the road. Literally like 200M from my house so water is pretty much identical.

It's Tank-raised, about 3cm long and 1cm across. REALLY cute. It's almost like he has his own little personality.
I'll get him some tank mates when I get the cash.

TekFish

 

[fishprotector]

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

I love Bristlenose's as I think they look great but the other half thinks that they look ugly (I know do not get me started ) so I doubt I will ever get one

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Please tell me this is not in your squat dimesnsions, pentagon corner tank with the 14 Rosy Tetra...

BNs need 125l tanks because they are poops machines, eating and pooping veg 24 hours a day.

The last thing your heavily stocked squat tank, with little water surface needs, is a fish that will be churining out waste (ammonia) like nobodys business. When oxygen levels are not enough for the fish and the bacteria (who will want to multiply when food is plentiful), it is the fish that lose out, the small surface area of your tank will not be allowing lots of oxygen into the water.

 

[Ruthc1985]

I had a bristle nose - they grow fast just to warn you! Mine started off cute and tiny, but soon became a beast (several inches long!) and I had to rehome him to a vastly bigger tank. Yes he sorted out my algae problem (but pooped endlessly in the process) but in the long term my small tank wasn't a good home for him. It was a beginners error on my part.

Do you have a good sized tank for him?

 

[super-MAGuire]

Please tell me this is not in your squat dimesnsions, pentagon corner tank with the 14 Rosy Tetra...

BNs need 125l tanks because they are poops machines, eating and pooping veg 24 hours a day.

The last thing your heavily stocked squat tank, with little water surface needs, is a fish that will be churining out waste (ammonia) like nobodys business. When oxygen levels are not enough for the fish and the bacteria (who will want to multiply when food is plentiful), it is the fish that lose out, the small surface area of your tank will not be allowing lots of oxygen into the water.

How many BN plecs would you recomend as a max for a 125lt tank? just the one? or two or 3??? Cheers

 

[onidrase]

Please tell me this is not in your squat dimesnsions, pentagon corner tank with the 14 Rosy Tetra...

BNs need 125l tanks because they are poops machines, eating and pooping veg 24 hours a day.

The last thing your heavily stocked squat tank, with little water surface needs, is a fish that will be churining out waste (ammonia) like nobodys business. When oxygen levels are not enough for the fish and the bacteria (who will want to multiply when food is plentiful), it is the fish that lose out, the small surface area of your tank will not be allowing lots of oxygen into the water.

How many BN plecs would you recomend as a max for a 125lt tank? just the one? or two or 3??? Cheers

I have only one in my 300 lt tank and he makes enough poop to keep me pecking at the sand every day. That should give you an idea.

 

[super-MAGuire]

Please tell me this is not in your squat dimesnsions, pentagon corner tank with the 14 Rosy Tetra...

BNs need 125l tanks because they are poops machines, eating and pooping veg 24 hours a day.

The last thing your heavily stocked squat tank, with little water surface needs, is a fish that will be churining out waste (ammonia) like nobodys business. When oxygen levels are not enough for the fish and the bacteria (who will want to multiply when food is plentiful), it is the fish that lose out, the small surface area of your tank will not be allowing lots of oxygen into the water.

How many BN plecs would you recomend as a max for a 125lt tank? just the one? or two or 3??? Cheers

I have only one in my 300 lt tank and he makes enough poop to keep me pecking at the sand every day. That should give you an idea.

haha, i see.... bloody herbivores!

 

[mbeer21]

Please tell me this is not in your squat dimesnsions, pentagon corner tank with the 14 Rosy Tetra...

BNs need 125l tanks because they are poops machines, eating and pooping veg 24 hours a day.

The last thing your heavily stocked squat tank, with little water surface needs, is a fish that will be churining out waste (ammonia) like nobodys business. When oxygen levels are not enough for the fish and the bacteria (who will want to multiply when food is plentiful), it is the fish that lose out, the small surface area of your tank will not be allowing lots of oxygen into the water.

How many BN plecs would you recomend as a max for a 125lt tank? just the one? or two or 3??? Cheers

I have two in my 130L with no issues - but I have gravel, not sand, so all the poop isn't so obvious

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Please tell me this is not in your squat dimesnsions, pentagon corner tank with the 14 Rosy Tetra...

BNs need 125l tanks because they are poops machines, eating and pooping veg 24 hours a day.

The last thing your heavily stocked squat tank, with little water surface needs, is a fish that will be churining out waste (ammonia) like nobodys business. When oxygen levels are not enough for the fish and the bacteria (who will want to multiply when food is plentiful), it is the fish that lose out, the small surface area of your tank will not be allowing lots of oxygen into the water.

How many BN plecs would you recomend as a max for a 125lt tank? just the one? or two or 3??? Cheers

Just the one, unless you have excellent filtration. Fully grown BN are surprsingly chunky fish, at least the girth of your index and middle fingers stuck together and upto ~15cm long depending upon the species. Like many fish in the hobby, we can get used to seeing those cute tiny babies in the fish store, without truely visualising the "monsters" they will become in our homes... I was truely shocked when I saw the size of a BN "dad" in one of my LFS, compared to his 50+ offspring!

While BN can adapt to a lot of different tank conditions, they originate from sub-tropical (~21C), fast flowing waters. So when I say excellent filtration in a 125l, they would have no issues at all with say an All Pond Solutions 2000EF or Eheim 2078 (that give 11550-1200lph turnover) coupled up with a ~2000lph powerhead that helped sweep up their mess.

 

[TekFish]

I don't have a pentagon tank with 14 rosy tetra....don't know where you got that from.

I have a 200L tank with a Bristlenose Catfish...

PICTURES


Picture was bigger than I expected

TekFish

 

[fishprotector]

Looks good

 

[TekFish]

Yay

TekFish

 

[xingumike]

While BN can adapt to a lot of different tank conditions, they originate from sub-tropical (~21C), fast flowing waters.

Source?

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Awww he's cute! I've got two, I love em!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Most bn folks get are a #19### tank version. This is especially true of long fins, albinos, calicos/marbleds, reds and I think most recently a green variety. They are most likely line bred from either wild Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus, dolichopterus or temminckii. None of these are sub-tropical. The current bn tank bred fish can handle a decent range of temp from low 70sF to discus temps.

Most wild Ancistrus are not from sub-subtropical waters. I would like to say none are but I do not know that for sure.

(Edited to include Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus which I had omittted.)