how are they with water quality, are they really ummm, needy with having it really high quality. becuase I got one, was doing fine for 3 days, and now I think he died. might have been sick when I got him, the guy I got him from just got them in that day. but before I get another one I am just wondering. thanks.
bristlenose pleco
- Thread starter OxyBomb
- Start date
I would consider them very, very hardy. I picked a used tank last summer--part of the deal was that I would take the bristlenose babies, ranging in size from 3/4 inch up to about 3 inches, that were in the tank. Ended up being about 70 of the buggers. When I picked them up, they had been dumped into a 5 gallon bucket with about 2 gallons of water--think sardines. I immediately transferred them into a half filled 55, as well as splitting them out into my other tanks, but they were in that bucket for at least 2 hours. No filtering. Nasty! They all survived--I ended up taking all but about 10 of them to the LFS, where they are still very busy worker fish in their tanks.
Oxy, what you mean you think he might be dead? Only a guess but he may be hiding. Bristlenose AFAIK are a bit more social than my clown pleco but I think they still like their hiding spaces and private time. I've had my clown hide for weeks completely. I would have sworn he was dead. Oddly though, he was out and visible for the first few days in the tank. Diferent fish I know but until you see the body I wouldn't be convinced he's dead.
FWIW, I rearrabged my tank to provide a lot more hiding spots and plant cover. Consequently I see my clown a lot more.
Tom
FWIW, I rearrabged my tank to provide a lot more hiding spots and plant cover. Consequently I see my clown a lot more.
Tom
well thats good news for me. I havn't tested my water in a while, but my guppies had babies last week and there are still at least 20 of them swimming around in the tank. and I think my other tiny pleco is still alive. I think it might have been sick, (dont have a Q-tank yet) thats my next buy once I get the 75 cycled. was hoping to grow out a bristle nose for a while with some clown loaches with the guppies in a 40 gallon. clowns are about 1.5 inches 2 of them, the bristle nose was about 3 inches, and like 5 adult guppies. the other pleco was about .5 inch to maybe an inch. and 3 apple snails, and one rams horn snail. everything else looks ok. the loaches are kind of acting funny, they swim a little bit and then the just float around. im getting my water tested in about 15 min. tank has been up and running with fish in for about 2 months, cycled before that. I started to slack on my testing cuz I got injured at work and ran out of testing stuff, and was having troubles getting paid for my lost work hours. but getting a new job should have next week and gona buy a bunch. thanks for the info and any more I should get.
If the bns are wild caught they will probably be extemely nocturnal, you will very rarely see them during the day. If they are tank raised, they are a lot more social. Regardless, they are one of the hardiest fishes you can keep. They will hide from light, however so they probably are not sick or dead unless they have a sunken stomach or some other outside signs.
well he was dead. upside and didn't move for 5 hours, I was cleaning and touched him and he didn't move 
. my ph is about 8. and nitrate and nitrite are minimal. there is a small amount of ammonia, barely detectibal tho.
. my ph is about 8. and nitrate and nitrite are minimal. there is a small amount of ammonia, barely detectibal tho.Sometimes, they don't (as well as many other fish) react very well to ammonia or nitrite. Make sure both are at zero before adding any more fish.
A ph of 8 will not be a problem at all. I currently have 5 in my tanks and my ph runs around 8.
A ph of 8 will not be a problem at all. I currently have 5 in my tanks and my ph runs around 8.
I was just suprised about it. my other pleco I bought 2 days before (petco said they have been having alot of deaths with them) is still alive and smaller. and I have a bunch of babie guppies. but I am waiting for any more fish. will probly be about a month before I get any more. thanks for the info. this is one fish im going to get again, I want to try to breed them.