4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
Post Reply
squid
Posts: 378
Joined: 24 Feb 2004, 12:30
Location 1: Philippines.
Interests: Tropical fish, internet, swimming, sleeping...

4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by squid »

Hi,

Just brought home 5 pcs Albino Bristlenose.
Can you guys help me sex them? I picked a male and 4 female.
Did i make the right pick? Do i have 4 females and a male?

Image

Image

I have a female and a male at home.adding these to my bn comm.

thanks.
.Plecomania.
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 Sep 2013, 01:45
My cats species list: 2 (i:2, k:0)
My aquaria list: 1 (i:1)
Location 2: New Jersey USA

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by .Plecomania. »

First pic: top one is female. right one is the obvious male, left one could be either and i am leaning to immature male due to head shape. males will have flatter more pronounces snouts. does it show any buds of bristles at all?

Second pic: bottom one is female. top one am unsure.

All of these besides the obvious male need to be older in order to show bristles. if none grow in the next year, then i'd say all 4 of them are females.

I have seen young males repress bristle growth around one dominant male so maybe that will be happening here. younger males will stay looking like females. over time though the males should grow at least some set of bristles.
exasperatus2002
Posts: 253
Joined: 22 Aug 2008, 03:24
My cats species list: 12 (i:0, k:4)
Spotted: 13
Location 2: allentown PA

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by exasperatus2002 »

4 females and 1 male bnp's = a gazillion fry
squid
Posts: 378
Joined: 24 Feb 2004, 12:30
Location 1: Philippines.
Interests: Tropical fish, internet, swimming, sleeping...

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by squid »

Thanks :) i have a larger male with lota of bristles in my tank was originally thinking of just getting 4 females but decided to get an additional male . Im also thinking the one you pointed out might be an immature male as his head is a little broad
.Plecomania.
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 Sep 2013, 01:45
My cats species list: 2 (i:2, k:0)
My aquaria list: 1 (i:1)
Location 2: New Jersey USA

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by .Plecomania. »

do you have a big tank? how big is it. males will get territorial if not enough caves are present.
squid
Posts: 378
Joined: 24 Feb 2004, 12:30
Location 1: Philippines.
Interests: Tropical fish, internet, swimming, sleeping...

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by squid »

My Tank is 75 Gallon, 4 x 1.5x1.5 ft.
I have Lots of Hiding places in the tank.
.Plecomania.
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 Sep 2013, 01:45
My cats species list: 2 (i:2, k:0)
My aquaria list: 1 (i:1)
Location 2: New Jersey USA

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by .Plecomania. »

75 gal is big enough. these look like nice fish :)
Just like the albinos i raised last summer. i have a pair of albinos right now from my last spawn of browns and i was planning on growing and breeding them along with my L260s. but recently my male got bloated and may not make it :( I am doing everything i can for him. mine are around 2.25"

how large are these?
squid
Posts: 378
Joined: 24 Feb 2004, 12:30
Location 1: Philippines.
Interests: Tropical fish, internet, swimming, sleeping...

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by squid »

Thanks, Mine are about 3-3.5 inches.
for your bloat , maybe you can try epsom salt to help them clear the stuff from their stomach.
I also notice that with my bristlenose before when i fed lots of bloodworms.
they seem to require veggie food as main diet.

My problem now is thet poop a lot lol.
.Plecomania.
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 Sep 2013, 01:45
My cats species list: 2 (i:2, k:0)
My aquaria list: 1 (i:1)
Location 2: New Jersey USA

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by .Plecomania. »

they do poop tons haha. but my male is not going to the bathroom at all. I am doing epsom salts and some med right now.
have you bred BN plecos before too?
Last edited by .Plecomania. on 11 Dec 2013, 20:56, edited 1 time in total.
squid
Posts: 378
Joined: 24 Feb 2004, 12:30
Location 1: Philippines.
Interests: Tropical fish, internet, swimming, sleeping...

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by squid »

Not bristlenose only whiptails before its been a while since i had a colony of them
:) i sold mine before since they pooped a lot and i got tired doing big water changes :) now just starting with them again :)
.Plecomania.
Posts: 297
Joined: 10 Sep 2013, 01:45
My cats species list: 2 (i:2, k:0)
My aquaria list: 1 (i:1)
Location 2: New Jersey USA

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by .Plecomania. »

i had about 70+ BN plecos in a 40 gallon tank. idk how that worked but it did. one 5 gallon water change per week was not enough. whenever i forgot a week the water would get a bit pungent since i was feeding every day (the majority were fry-juveniles). the worst was about 0.25ppm of ammonia and nitrites during the time they were kept like that. not fun but i didn't have any other tanks. as soon as they got to 1.5"+ i sold them all off. the adults thanked me lol.
squid
Posts: 378
Joined: 24 Feb 2004, 12:30
Location 1: Philippines.
Interests: Tropical fish, internet, swimming, sleeping...

Re: 4 female and 1 male Bristlenose?

Post by squid »

.Plecomania. wrote:i had about 70+ BN plecos in a 40 gallon tank. idk how that worked but it did. one 5 gallon water change per week was not enough. whenever i forgot a week the water would get a bit pungent since i was feeding every day (the majority were fry-juveniles). the worst was about 0.25ppm of ammonia and nitrites during the time they were kept like that. not fun but i didn't have any other tanks. as soon as they got to 1.5"+ i sold them all off. the adults thanked me lol.

Nice :) I usually do weekly 30
% water change to my tank.
But i noticed lots of poop . when i had a colony before. My water turned dark brown.... not sure if its beacuse of the huge driftwoods i had, or because of the poop . but the dirt would be like mud . but i only have 7 pcs now and a Sunshine pleco :)
Post Reply

Return to “South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)”