Bristlenose Pleco

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Flower1982

AC Members
Sep 29, 2005
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Pennsylvania
Real Name
Jess
Ok, I adopted an albino bristle nose pleco. He is only 2 to 2 and a half inches right now. Right now he's in my 10 gallon tank with my male betta and my otto catfish.
I plan on moving him to my 30 gallon tank when he gets bigger. I just have one question. How big do bristle nose Plecos get? I've read that they get 6 inches. Is that true? I know they don't get as big as the regular plecos. the reason I didn't put him in my 30 gallon tank yet is because my 30 gallon tank doesn't have much algae. My 10 gallon has plenty of algae for him, but the algae isn't too bad either. I do plan on giving him an algae wafer every other night or so. He's doing great so far.
 
They are so hardy once you get them established... good choice, I'd say!! And my aunt had one that got to 8 inches... but she had him for years and years in a 55 gallon aquarium back in Germany. I think the average is 6-7 inches for a bristlenose, tho. and for the record, they love love LOVE munching on driftwood!! Make sure you have some available for him to hid and suck on and he'll dd juuust fine! ^__^
 
my old bristle nose got around 9 inches and then maybe a final of ten before he passed at 13 years of age
 
I'll have to get some drift wood for him. But so far he seems to like the tank. Now I've never feed vegtables to my fish before. I've heard you can feed them lettuce, cucumbers, and shelled peas. Do the peas have to fresh peas? I wouldn't think you would want to feed canned peas. So you think he'll be ok in my 30 gallon tank? I'l porbably put him in the 30 gallon tank in a few months when he gets a bit bigger. I have a nice big rock cave in there that he would just love. Why does he need driftwood? Is that something he definately needs or will he do ok without it? If he definately needs some driftwood next time I'm at work I'll get him some.
 
Flower1982 said:
I'll have to get some drift wood for him. But so far he seems to like the tank. Now I've never feed vegtables to my fish before. I've heard you can feed them lettuce, cucumbers, and shelled peas. Do the peas have to fresh peas? I wouldn't think you would want to feed canned peas. So you think he'll be ok in my 30 gallon tank? I'l porbably put him in the 30 gallon tank in a few months when he gets a bit bigger. I have a nice big rock cave in there that he would just love. Why does he need driftwood? Is that something he definately needs or will he do ok without it? If he definately needs some driftwood next time I'm at work I'll get him some.
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driftwood is just where they hang out naturally and they actually scrape the surface of it off and chew on it at least mine does

with the peas you can do frozen if you want to and thaw them out then feed or fresh . cucumbers and all the others are the same just get some clips to hold them inplace or you will have vegitive matter just floating around
i would go ahead and put him in the bigger tank now if you dont have aggressive fish in there he will enjoy the added room and that rock cave
and there is probably more natural algea to eat in there being as there is more surface area
good luck and start picking out a name he will be with you awhile
 
I'll definately have to get a veggies clip to give him some veggies every now and then. Well I tried keeping an algae eater in my 30 gallon tank before a few months ago and he didn't live very long. I did test the water when the first algae eater died in my 30 gallon and there wasn't anything wrong with the water. So I think he didn't have enough to eat or course I could be wrong. I don't have any aggressive fish in the 30 gallon. But my one bleeding heart tetra as kind of taken over the rock cave. He hides in there and he will sometimes chase the other fish from the cave. I hope he only gets about 5 to 6 inches. I don't think I could keep him if he get too big for my 30 gallon.
 
Typically, albino BN's don't get as large as regular/wild brown BN's. There are exceptions, yes, but most albinos only get 5-6" tops. It may eventually put a strain on a 30g tank and filter, but I don't think it will ever technically outgrow it. Also, if you get a clip, feed fresh zuccini slices. I breed albino BN's and the LOVE zuccini. It's much more nutritious than cucumber, too. Cocktail shrimp 1x weekly are happily devoured, too.
 
you mean get a shrimp from the grocery store and feed them shrimp? I didn't know they ate shrimp like that.
 
yup. I just buy a bag of frozen cooked shrimp when it's on sale and plop a shrimp in the tank once a week. My more omnivorous plecos (queen arabesque, king tiger, gold nugget) get shrimp more often but the BN's get it once a week too. It's great for growth and is also cheap and easy.
 
Yeah, driftwood is always good to have for a bristlenose. They enjoy feeding on it and hiding around it. My aunt's bristlenoses hardly ever left the surface of the wood unless it was feeding time! That just goes to show how much they love that stuff!!

You'll definitely want to feed him algae wafers just about every day once he gets to about a 4 inch size, or have plenty of blanched zucchini and shelled peas for him. (Don't use canned!! The salt and preservatives are BAD. Just peel the skins off the frozen peas and dunk them in hot water to soften 'em a bit if you think they're too tough. But keep in mind if a bristle can chew driftwood, he can probably handle a little green pea!)

My aunt had her four bristles there in Oklahoma for five years in a 50 gallon tank and only one of them got up to 5 inches from purchasing them at 3 inches each. I couldn't tell you why they stayed so small...
 
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