I am in the midst of setting up a tank. The main fish of the tank is going to be a pair of apistogramma cacatuoides. The other day, I noticed that, for the first time ever, my LFS was carrying plecos other than the commons - albino bristlenose. The tank is a 20 gallon. Would it be ok to have a pleco in there with the apistos, or might they get too upset with him about the territories?
Apisto tank- pleco?
- Thread starter Kristinann
- Start date
They are fine together and I respect your research into compatibility.Bristlenose are great fish both functionally and ornamentally.A couple of pointers.Bristlenose are consummate vegetarians,though they will eat pretty much anything.I would wait until you have some good algae growth in the tank.Even then,as they will clean most diatom and flat algae overnight,I would for the life of the fish feed them fresh veggies.The best thing in my experience is raw green zucchini.I cut the zuccs in half longways,then each half into 3-5 inch sections depending on the size of the fish.Alot of sources say to blanche in boiling water but I just give it a good rinse in hot from the tap.Then,rubber band it to a rock to keep it down.My fave way to anchor it is by taking a small section of the plastic black strip that comes with glass tops and then silicone a rock to one side.You can rubber band the zuccs to the plastic like a little tray.I feed this every other day.90% of death in plecos and ancistrus is from starvation due to the fact they dont normally compete for food,and their nocturnal nature.They dont usually show any signs of starvation.You cant beat a better "maintenance" fish for cleaning algae off plants than a bristlenose,though they may eat softer leave species like some stem plants and the latter.Also,for ancistrus sp.,put driftwood in their tanks to rasp on as an enzyme in it aids their digestion and is an important part of their diet.Good luck...
The plecos in my 14g love algae wafers but the pleco I've had in my 40g never go for the wafers. I'm trying vegetables this week, gonna try cucumbers.
Hey,there.The only problem with cucumbers is that they disintegrate very quickly causing a lot of slimy waste.This is especially a problem the warmer the tank water.Green zucchini on the other hand can stay up to three days until it starts to do this.By that time the fish have usually consumed it.Just a thought...
True but the pleco in question here is the BN and BN's are mainly Vegetarians.
Cucumbers are also no so good due to there low nutrional value. Zuchini has a way higher nutritional value then cucumbers.