Hi!

Ok, first off ihave to admit that the last post about plec got me daydreaming about a bigger tank (i know you can all relate!) and now i'm wondering, how many gallons each do bristle nose plecs require, and if they are better off in pairs?

Right now we just have our little Nemo (2 inches) in a 10 gallon tank, and we want to upgrade anyway... It would be so much fun to have some more fish in with him! I wonder how many gallons i would need for:

1 common
1 bristlenose plec (or two if they are better in a pair)
2 weather loaches ( i think these are better in pairs)
1 apple snail

Would a 55 gallon be enough?

Life with goldfish is never boring, but i think i could handle a little more excitement than one common in a 10 gallon tank!

Thanks for your imput!

Dana.

After some more research - i think that 1 male bristlenose would be fine on his own. I loved the pictures of the "Starlight" Bristlenose Plec. It is so beautiful! I'm smitten! But i still don't know how much room it needs.

Yes, you are right, bristlenoses are best kept singly. Females can live together, but males are territorial. I would dedicate 10 gallons to your bristlenose. They tend to get fairly large and are relatively messy.

I find the weather loaches great fish. They are lots of fun!

I think your 55 gallon would certainly be adequate for your desires

You wont see him much if at all with just one. If you can get one male and 2 or 3 females they would be happier. I have 7 at this time but still very young plan to only keep three or four.

hi

i have a bristle nose plec in my 75 UK gallon tank mine is an albino the people at the lfs said they need 5 gallons, and i trust that shop a lot. Mine is small still about 2 inches but i think she is a girl as there are nearly no signs of large spikes hat the males get. She is active all day and remember to include some bog wood they need it for diet , mine keep managing to searate big chunks out lol they also love cucumber

something about the starlight...i saw one at the shop i got mine from well it was a common starlight, and it was £75 or (roughly) $150 but it was quite big like 7 inch at least

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/im-trying/jess.jpg <----- thats a pic of mine

though i have to say i am still a noob to fish keeping so i may be giving the wrong advise ^^''


hope ive helped

Thanks everyone! Wow - i'm so excited to dream-plan my future tank! That's a beautiful albino plec too! Is bog-wood ok for the Goldies? Will it affect the ph at all? I've never seen it for sale, is it hard to come by? How big does it come? And i think i'll need to get some sort of hidey hole? What kind do they like?

Touch of sky - What kind of gravel do you have for your loaches? I have just regular aquarium gravel. Will it be too rough? I've thought about changing over to river stones, as i understand it may be better for the goldfish, but would it be ok for the loaches too?

Thanks!

Dana.

Both of my bristlenoses are female, and one has gotten quite large, I would say a good 5 1/2". The other has remained smaller, at about 4". So, you never really know about size. The large female is very visible. She is out eating ProGold with the goldfish, jostling for position. The other female is much more timid and I don't see her much. They are in different tanks, btw

I bought mopani from my lfs. Just a small piece would be enough for your bristlenose. Try and find a piece that would be a nice hiding place for your bristlenose. They come in all different sizes and shapes, and you can usually find a shape that would be a nice hiding place. They like to sleep there and as the others mentioned, they need the fibre in their diet. It is sold by weight, so the price depends on how big a piece you get. You won't have any worries with small piece of bogwood in a 55 gallon tank.

Actually loaches like aquarium gravel because they like to bury themselves in it. They are very funny that way. You will see just a little nose peeking out from the gravel I just have regular gravel in the tank with my loaches. It isn't a really sharp type of gravel, though, but most common gravel would be OK.

Everyonce in a while,I read about a bigger Bristlenose like yours Val.I know someone that has an Albino he swears is 6 1/2 inches. I have around 11 adults,and tons of different babies,and I think my biggest is maybe 4 1/2 inches.They are not all related either.
Here's a pair of adult Brown ones.

My adult Albino Male

Daddy with some of his babies.

Wow what great pictures. Mine are common and chocolates and about half that size. Such great fish. Not at all what I expected.
Love the albino with the babies.

wow nice albinio!!!!

i have some questions (hope you dont mind me butting in)

how old was he when he started developing his big bristles?

and also how pale was he when he started out as mine is more creamy than yellowy like your big one ^^

I will tell you the truth,I have no idea any more.I have had so many babies that all my facts/dates,etc. are just a tangled mess.
I will say that males start pretty young with little tiny stubs,and most females don't get stub at all.This Albino has his moments with color.I had to remove him from the Bristle tank because an up and coming soon to be grown up male ,beat the crap out of him.I found him lying at the top of the tank almost dead.
He's in another tank now that has white sand substrate.I don't know if that has something to do with his color or the fact that he's not with females right now,but he's not as orange looking as he was.
I have females that are more creamy colored like that too.Here are some of the babies,and I just sold 150 of them to my LFS.One of the Brown adults are in the tube as we speak,fanning a bunch of new babies.

This is Rocky with his babies.

A few eating a cukecumber.

Aww, Devs I just love your bristlenose pictures! I want an albino so badly! I saw one today, first time ever in my LFS and he was 70 bucks! He was a long finned bristle, gorgeous! I was in love, though not enough to pay that much.

Sharon - your bristlies are gorgeous! I like the brown ones - the spots are so beautiful. I can't wait to upgrade tanks so that i can get one. Thanks so much for contributing to this thread, i love learning about other fish to go with my gf. So many possibilities, so little tank room! Have you ever seen a "starlight" black and white one? I saw one on a wesite today, and it was stunning! I wonder if they might be difficult to find?

Thanks again for sharing youe bristlenose family with us all!

Dana

Thanks again all.
Dana,I actually had a friend that wanted to ship me a couple Starlights a while back and I actually had to turn her down on them. With babies and such,I had around three hundred or so,and just didn't have any more room.
the Brown ones are pretty in person.Then I have a Brown adult who mated with Albino.Some of the babies are yellow,and some came out almost like a light or milk chocolate.The lfs people said that those babies may produce either/or colors.

I love the pics of your bristlenoses Sharon I have only have one. Mine loves to eat zucchini.

How can you tell the difference between male and female?

Once they get a certain age,Males will begin to grow little stubs on their face ,where most females have none or really tiny short ones.To me,it also seems like the females faces are less fuller than the males.I've actually gotten pretty good at figuring out the sexes when they're still quite young.

Absolutely beautiful pics of those plecos, Devs! I think that plecos are the neatest fish; alot of people I know think that they are 'bizzare looking' and ugly. I think they are cuties! Maybe someday I will have a bristlenose of my own.

How do you anchor your veggies to the bottom of the tank? I have read about veggie clips, but haven't been able to find one at any of my lfs yet. I wanna try feeding them some.

Thanks Goldyfan.I actually semi cook all my veggies so at least the Zuchinni/cuckecumbers sink.I use regular clips that they sell at the dollar store for potato chip bags etc. for holding my veggies.I just make sure that there are no magnets,as some of them use them for the fridge too.

Devs...may I step in a moment and ask about breeding plecos ...was it something you planned (I notice the tube?) I have 2 albino plecos they look a lot like your babies and I'd love to encourage them to breed if they are a male and female of course ...any way to encourage breeding - I was under the impression from reading that its quite rare for them to breed in home tanks....