# GT and NB pleco



## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

Hello, I'm new here. I just bought a GT and a NB pleco both about 5cm. I put them in a 20 gallon tank with driftwood and jave fern. I'll update to a new 55g tank in about half year. The question is how fast the GT grow, can I keep them together in this 20 g tank for the next 6 month, and can they live together in a 55g tank later. They had their first fight this morning, the GT got a little bit uphand.


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

sorry, one mistake, the pleco is BN pleco. can it get along with green terror?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

What are the dimensions of the 20G?

Kim


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

61x31x46cm.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I am assuming you mean a bristle nose pleco? (BN rather than NB???)

I wouldn't think the GT would see him as too much of a threat. Provide the pleco with hiding spots that the GT can't get into.

As far as assuring you that the GT won't become overly aggressive in that size tank for the next 6 months, I can't do that. 

Kim


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

guess what I found after I went home this afternoon? The pleco chase the GT all around the tank. I never see such aggressive young BN pleco before. So now, i have to separate them in different tanks for the safe of the GT  .without my pleco,I have to clean this tank myself


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I have a female bristlenose that chases/chased pike cichlids and breeding convicts around ... so I'm not surprised by yours ... though the first time I saw it, I was asking it if it thought it was a cichlid or something!!!


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

The poor GT get split tail already, I hope it can be healed in a few days. Now, he looks very happy without the BN pleco, and searching for food all around the tank. The pleco is in a small 10g tank, unhappy. don't know if i can bring him back later. :-?


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## DirtyBlackSocks (Jan 24, 2008)

Your pleco is hungry, put some food in there - algae waefers that are spirulina based and he'll leave your fish alone. Assuming it really is a bushynose pleco.


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

yes, it's a male bushynose pleco, and i just feed him one algae waefer last night, and they started fight this morning. :x


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

His caudal fin will heal quickly with a good w/c scedual :thumb:

I hate plecos, all but my leopard sailfin. He's dog tame


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

What's scary is when a full size 12+" pleco chases a severum at full speed for a couple laps around a 75 US gallon tank. 

Happened only once to my knowledge. Quite a spectacle for sure. :lol:

-Ryan


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

:lol: My sailfin hates commons, he chased one the entire length of the 800, 14' !!! Usually chases end around the six foot mark for everyone else if they happen... :lol:


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

I used to have a common 6 inch pleco with three goldenfish. he is very tame, never attack. Then I was told the common was dangerous and will attcak someday. so I go for the BN pleco, this one is onlt 2.5 inch, and he is soooo aggresive!!!!
Anyway, I decided not to keep them together,I'm sure they will hurt each other and when GT grow bigger, he will kill the pleco.
one question, is it ok to keep a GT alone? will he feel boring?


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *swimming fish*,

Where to start.

OK BN first. Bristlenose catfish are vegetarians. Calling them algea eaters is a bit of a misnomer. Younger BN's will eat algea off the glass, but older ones prefer proper food.

Algea wafers should really only be a suppliment to a vegetarian catfishes diet. Good vegies for your BN will be zuccini, cucumber and romain lettuce, some may also like sweet potatoe, but usually panaque catfish like the harder veggies. I usually alternate veggies one night, algea wafer the next.

All you need to do is cut a zuccini length ways down the middle and cut about an inch for it and glad wrap the rest and put in the fridge. You'll soon learn how much it'll eat in one night. In our house we eat a lot of fresh veggies, so it's just a matter of seeing what's on the nights menu. So far I have found my catfish will eat broccoli and asparagus stems, peas in the pod and beans, as well as what I mentioned above. Just give the vegies a real good wash. Lots of these vegies float, so I just rubberband a piece to a small rock in the tank.

Becuase catfish eat a lot of vegies, they produce a lot of waste, and therefore nitrates can build up fast in a tank. I would suggest you look at doing a 30% to 40% water change every 3rd day in a 10 gallon tank.

So the GT. Have you read the profile here at C-F? I don't know how fast a GT grows, but I would guess it should reach about 6 inches in length in 6 months if fed properly. So I think your GT will out grow your 20 gallon tank in less than 6 months.

It's my opinion that a 55 gallon tank will not be large enough for an adult male GT. This thread might be a suitable read to give you an idea of what size tank may be appropriate for an adult GT. Like I said, it's my opinion, and each of us here has differing views on what constitutes a suitable sized tank for certain fish.

It would be good for GT keepers here at C-F to offer some advice, even if it's to say my advice is wrong. [/url]


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

Thanks for all these information. I also feed my pleco boiled zuccini, but not as often as you suggest, I feed it twice a week. I also feed green pea. I'll not keep him in a 10g tank very long.
I'll either setup a new bigger tank or give it back to LFS in a few weeks. or maybe after 2 weeks, I put them back together to see if they can get along each other.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

DFF, I don't think you're wrong at all, especially on the tank the GT is currently in and the 55G for a future tank.

The 55G _might_ work, if he's the only fish in it, but it will be crowded for an adult GT to show his normal behaviour. I guess I'm just not big on devoting one tank to one fish.

Kim


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I agree with you 100% Kim, Gt's get big, but they don't get there any time soon. I'd say about 1/3" to 1/2" a month is normal in my tanks atleast.

75 gallon min for an adult male and 55 minimum for an adult female GT.

Sorry, but no experience with BN plecos. I take an entire half of a zuchini or cucumber (cutting it length ways) and rubber band it to a rock and everyone eats it in my tank, they love the stuff! It's a blast to watch them eat it. :lol:


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## swimming fish (Jun 9, 2008)

one more question. I feed my GT flake Cichild food and frozen shrimp and find he make a mess when eating flakes, tiny food piece pump out of his gill. I also know flake is not as good as pellet, the problem is I can't find small Cichild pellet fit my 2" GT. Can I feed him Hikari lionhead goldenfish food, they are very small pellet, I try one and my fish like it.
The torn fin has healed perfectly.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

They'll eat normal sized pellets. You'll see  The food will soften in their mouth, or they'll bite pieces off of it. Trust me.


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