We have lost 3 bristlenose (bushynose) catfish since we have had our aquarium. One was MIA, never found a body, then we purchased two more from the same aquarium store. One died within 24 hrs., the next one live one more day and then died. The only thing I can think of is that when my husband put them into the main tank, he didn't wait long enough for the temperature in the bag to become the same as the main tank. He did it in about 10 minutes. After discussing this with our aquarium store, the guy there said he should extent the time to 1/2 hr. to acclimate the fish. It is possible that the fish were already sick when we got them because a couple of days later after they died, we ended up with Ick and had to start treating the tank. This weekend we are going to put in our carbon filter and get the rest of the medication out of the tank and do a 25% water change. (We have been treating for Ick for 4 weeks). We will leave the carbon filter in for about 3 weeks and then remove it so we can start our sponge filter for our quarantine tank. Any suggestions on what else we can do before purchasing another bristlenose?
Secret to keeping Bristlenose
- Thread starter Litespeed
- Start date
Bristlenose
Sounds like to me that you are getting sick or weakened fish from this store. I would try another source when purchasing them in the future. There are quite a few members selling them in the classified's. As for as your MIA bristlenose, it may have escaped from your tank, they are know for getting out any open area's in your hood, they will even swim up your filter. I have found once you aclimate them they are pretty harder fish. Also what temp is your tank and what are your water parameters ?
Sounds like to me that you are getting sick or weakened fish from this store. I would try another source when purchasing them in the future. There are quite a few members selling them in the classified's. As for as your MIA bristlenose, it may have escaped from your tank, they are know for getting out any open area's in your hood, they will even swim up your filter. I have found once you aclimate them they are pretty harder fish. Also what temp is your tank and what are your water parameters ?
Mine always die, dont think they can handle the hotter temps eg(nothing over 27C), also need to be fed boiled cuecumber ect. When aclitimisng its not the temp that bothers the fish at all, its the different ph/hardness levels of the water, thats why sitting the bag in your tank does nothing, you have to add 1 cup of tank water to the water in the bag every 10mins or so for 30-40 minutes then net the fish out and put them into the tank.
Maybe slower acclimation would help. Float the bag for ~20 minutes then add small amounts of tank water every 10-15 min. for a total of 80% tank water(more or less). you may need to bail out some water in the bag to make enough room. This can also be done in a smallish bucket. Then net the fish out so no store water goes into the tank(quarrantine tank hopefully).
Assuming correct acclimation (not just floating)..
I have 1 BN pleco, the only one I've ever had, and it has never been ill despite being in the tank with other ill fish. From this perspective, they seem very hardy.
It sounds like you're getting bad ones from the place you're buying them.
I have 1 BN pleco, the only one I've ever had, and it has never been ill despite being in the tank with other ill fish. From this perspective, they seem very hardy.
It sounds like you're getting bad ones from the place you're buying them.
I agree with everyone's comments here so far. Especially the common bristlenose are a very hardy fish. I think you're losing them that quickly is a combination of purchasing fish already sick or in a weakened/stressed condition compounded with an acclimation technique that's not quite suitable. Most plecos that are shipped to LFS's have also been starved for quite some time. I believe this is done to cut down on the enormous waste in the crowded fish shipping bags. Many types of plecos arrive into the LFS with sunken stomachs from being underfed, they are stressed, possible already exposed to disease and chilled......take one of those fish in poor condition and slip it into water that matches the temp of the water he's in, but is very different in chemistry than what he's been in.......it would be enough to lead to his demise. By the way, what size are they when you buy them and what kind are they?
First off, when buying any pleco ALWAYS have the pet store employee position the pleco so that you can see its belly. If it is sunk in you have a problem. See, they ship these things in bags with a bunch of them in there and nothing to eat. Then thy drop them in a single tank that doesn't have enough food for all of them. Basically they start starving the moment they are shipped from the wholesaler.
Now a sunk in stomach can be reversed with a heavy dose of cucumber, algae wafers, etc. You can try to nurse it back to health or ask the fish store to do it so you aren't out any $$$.
If you try to nurse it back to health you need to look at the eyes first. If they are sunk into the sockets that fish is beyond the point of no return and should be avoided at all costs.
Ask the folks at the LFS how they feed their plecos. Generally there isn't enough algae in a LFS tank to to adequately feed a pleco, much less if it's 20 in a single tank. And then you get into the meat eating plecos. Do they provide them with anything they can eat? Or, do they provide wood for the Panaque species (Royal Clown, Blue Eye, etc)?
Now a sunk in stomach can be reversed with a heavy dose of cucumber, algae wafers, etc. You can try to nurse it back to health or ask the fish store to do it so you aren't out any $$$.
If you try to nurse it back to health you need to look at the eyes first. If they are sunk into the sockets that fish is beyond the point of no return and should be avoided at all costs.
Ask the folks at the LFS how they feed their plecos. Generally there isn't enough algae in a LFS tank to to adequately feed a pleco, much less if it's 20 in a single tank. And then you get into the meat eating plecos. Do they provide them with anything they can eat? Or, do they provide wood for the Panaque species (Royal Clown, Blue Eye, etc)?
That is incorrect. BN can be kept happily in a discus tank.
The original post in this thread is a perfect explanation for why folks use Quarenteen tanks. This is especially important when buying from local fish and pet stores.
While bn are a pretty hardy fish, they don't do well in lower pH- ie 6.5 or less. When it comes to acclimation, hardness and TDS levels are much more important considerations than temp or pH. Acclimating fish to widely different hardness levels can not be accomplished in a matter of hours or even a day or two. If you suspect this is a problem, test your tank water and then ask the store to test theirs for you so you know what the differences are.
Finally, bear in mind most stores want to move fish out as fast as they can. Fish are often overstressed from travel and multiple rebaggings and being dropped into water of different params. Fish stores use central filtration systems, often feed minimally and may not treat sick fish but just dump them into the sytem. If you the fishkeeper fail to take all the precautions against such practices when buying fish, then you better be prepared for the consequences.