# bristle nose pleco



## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

hi
do females have smaller bristles on their noses or do they not have any at all?
I have one that is about 2.5 - 3 inches big and it has tiny bristles around its mouth and nose.
I recently introduced it to the tank with a confirmed male and the two was seen in a cave together for a short while- could i assume they are male and female? The confirmed male does not appear to be aggressive to it.
thanks


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## ben1988 (May 2, 2009)

males will usuall fight over territory. the females also do not have the rose/pinkish color on the back of the head. there is also a line of bristles that go down the middle of the head that females do not have....


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I've never seen a bristlenose without ANY bristles. I thought the females just have short ones. I don't know the gender of mine (four of them), but I asked the LFS for all females. They all have short bristles, some longer than others.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

IC! then that must mean i have 2 females then.
Should I put both of them in with my male? 
My goal is to breed them - should i separate the female from the male or is it okay to just leave them together?


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

Put them both in with the male, they'll take turns laying eggs in his cave. He'll happily take care of all they give him IME. Just figure out what you're going to do with hundreds of BN fry...


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

Great thanks a lot
I thought they were pairing fish but I guess not.
I will try it later today.
btw is it normal for females to chase each other?


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

It's more often the male that does the chasing, but I have seen a larger female chase a smaller one on occaision, usually when there's food involved.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

Can I leave and raise the fry with the parents?


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

Ya, just keep on top of the water changes when you have loads of fry. I find that Najas is also helpful for absorbing nitrates in tanks with loads of fry. It needs thinned out about every 3-4 weeks (fills all the open water) but it does help the water quality.
Here's a pic of my 75 gallon growout tank 5 weeks ago, not long after it was established and stocked with about 150 1" BN and cichlid fry:









Here's the tank 8 days ago, before I pulled out 4 stuffed gallon ziploc bags of Najas:









No special lighting, just a 4' shop light hanging a few inches above the glass covers. Incidentally, I've also moved out more than half the pleco juvies since it was stocked. I currently have probably a couple hundred more smaller fry (1"<) in the 30 long with the breeding trio. That tank looks about the same, crowded with Najas.


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## bigcatsrus (Apr 15, 2009)

Just something to add about male bn's. They have what looks like a mohawk in the middle of their head that are noticeably larger. Males are the only ones to have large bristles. Females do have these bristles but very small and don't go in a mohawk.

The male will be the one that looks after the fry.

IME I had both parents in the tank and the fry was ok but water changes do need to happen regulary.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

*** never seen naja locally here, thanks though

so the parents wont eat the fry? will a loner male pleco eat the fry?


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## MSUDawgs56 (Feb 1, 2005)

I put large shells in my tank and they breed like crazy.. currently i have 40+ fry ready to move to other fry tanks.


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

No, BN's won't eat fry of any kind, regardless of whether it's their own or another species. Once the eggs hatch other BN's aren't any threat.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

So my male has been inside of this pvc piping now for the past two days nonstop. I see his rear fins moving around water and he hasnt left the piping to even eat. Can I assume I have eggs???
Can I get away with feeding them finely crushed pellet food and blanched romaine lettuce/cucumbers or do i have to get brine shrimp?


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

Ya, sounds like he's got eggs to tend. Crushed pellets and zucchni are what I feed my fry.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

actually he did come out of hiding just now to eat when i turned the lights off for a few hours. - Is that normal?


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

Mine will leave long enough to eat, then goes back to the cave.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

Thanks a lot, I'll start feeding into the tube maybe in 5 days.


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## toddnbecka (Oct 23, 2004)

No need to feed the fry until they're out roaming the tank. They'll take some time to absorb the yolk sacs, and may even spend a couple more days in the cave after that.


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## yogurtpooh (Jul 28, 2005)

ahh okay, thanks for your help


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