hello everyone... well, last weekend i purchased a bristlenosed pleco for the first time. i was very suprised at how shy he was once i got him in my tank. he seemed pretty active at the store... anyway, he was pretty small and i had a pretty hard time finding him in the tank... but when i did he was always on the back wall behind the plants where it is dark eating algae...

anyway, a moment ago i was feeding my fish and noticed something white on the floor of the tank... well, as you probably have all ready guessed it... it was a dead bristlenose... who knows how long he had been dead...

well, my question/ comment is not "what happened" or anything... all my other fish are fine and my water quality is fine too... so, i suspect something else to be the culprit...

my questions are: does this type of pleco have any special needs beyond that of common plecos? i have had commons for years and they have always thrived... and, why did he turn white?

any comments on this is much appreciated... i really want to get ideas from others before i try to get another one...

thanks!

Sorry to hear about your little Bristle Desiree. When you purchased him,did you slowly acclimate his water in the bag,mixing it with your tank water-before placing him in the tank?Bristles can be real funny with major water changes & ph changes when they're very young.
What size is your tank-how long has it been running-what are the sizes of your fish,and how many were in the tank?What are the actual param #'s for the tank?

hello devs... thanks for responding so quickly... i REALLY appreciate it!!! well, my tank has been running (in one form or another) for at least 3 years now. it is a 60 gallon. i have 1 small oranda, 3 medium orandas, 1 large oranda and 1 large lionhead... i also have a large apple snail. ok, if i remember correctly here are the parameters (i discarded the tests and they were my last ones... (oops!) i know i am a tad overstocked but i do at least two 25% water changes weekly to maintain good water conditions... and i plan to get a new bigger tank within the next year or so...

ammonia- between 0 and 0.25 (SO hard to read on the test)
nitrate- 20
nitrite- 0.5
gh-300
kh-300
ph- between 7.8-8.0 (can't remember exactly)

my tank has been running these conditions for quite a while now... anyway, yes, i floated the bag with the pleco in it for around 20 minutes... then cut the bag and let some tank water come in and mix with his current water for several minutes before i released him into the tank...

(i had a hong kong pleco die the second (practically) he hit the water once... the explanation the store gave me was the ph difference... (understandable!) thats when i learned to slowly acclimate them to the tank water.)

the last time i saw him alive was i think tuesday or wednesday... he was only around 2-3 inches and he blended in quite well with the rocks, plants, etc...

Hmmm all sounds good. One "must-have" thing that u don't have is a driftwood, but a week without driftwood should be no problem for a bristlenose....hmmm....better get a driftwood before purchasing another bristle

yes! i had planned on buying some driftwood this weekend... i too figured it would be okay for a little while without it...

TAke it from someone who owns alot of Bristlenoses,something as little as that,can kill them quickly.When I add new fish,I open the bag and pour them into a floating container,and I slowly over a few hours add a little tank water at a time until I know that they're acclimating okay,and then I scoop the fish out and put them in the tank with my hand or a net.I don't like adding any Pet Store water to my tank---You just never know what may be in it.
Your tank is overstocked and because you're cycled,you may have to "UP" the water changes a bit to keep the Ammonia/Nitrites reading 0. 0 is the only safe numbers you should have.Are you using the test strips? ALthough they give you a general idea,they are not the most accurate.I occasionally use them myself inbetween water changes,etc.,and if I have the slightest reading on those I know it will be higher than what the strips show and just go a head with the water changes.
Introducing small fish is really chancy if you don't give them enough time to adjust to the new ph,so next time try my way and see if that helps.

hello again... that is a great idea!!!! thank you VERY much!!! i will definitly try that next time.... yes, regarding being overstocked... that is why i do 2 water changes per week... and yes, i use test strips... i also use prime... which i have heard can cause a false reading of ammonia... either way, i do my water changes to be on the safe side... thanks for the suggestions!!! i had no idea how "finicky" those little guys are... i still don't understand why he turned white... i feel horrible that he died...