Baby Bristlenoses
- Thread starter Carp37
- Start date
The male has bristles (hence their name "bristlenose"), whilst females don't, or at best have severely reduced bristles. The bristles are believed to be fake fry, as males already guarding fry are supposed to be more attractive to females looking to mate. Any male therefore not brooding fry therefore has fake fry stuck to his face to impress females with!
They look like females to me, unless they're just late-showing males (occasionally males develop a bit late, but my male was showing definite bristles by the time he got to 2" long).
i went back to the pet store today. and i had picked up bushy nose, not bristle nose plecos.
will the bushys breed the same?
i went back to the pet store today. and i had picked up bushy nose, not bristle nose plecos.
I think "bushynose" is just an alternative common name to "bristlenose". If you've got the common type then they breed really easily (but you might not have male there!); some of the newer imports need blackwater conditions (soft, acid water) and a few of them might need a wet and dry season simulation.
Yours LOOK like normal bristlenose females to me (it's a bit difficult to tell in the bag, but the shape and patterning are consistent with Ancistrus sp.3)- in which case you need a male and a cave (although males are reported to try to breed even without a cave, mine never did), and need to be ready to do lots of water changes once the fry become free-swimming.
Yippee I finally managed to find a couple of LFS that would take these- one for store credit only, one for a mixture of store credit and cash (plus they're nearer and gave me a better offer!). I managed to sell 30 for £1.50 per fish (about $3), which I was well chuffed with- I sold 30 at an auction a couple of weeks ago for less than £1 per fish on average.
Now I feel like a proper aquarist! :grinyes:
I just need to grow the other 150-odd on now (and the male's fanning again, so there's more on the way)!.
Now I feel like a proper aquarist! :grinyes:
I just need to grow the other 150-odd on now (and the male's fanning again, so there's more on the way)!.
