Bristle nose cats

fishkid951 · Post by **fishkid951** » 11 May 2007, 13:04

Hi
i have a 165L(45gal) discus tank and my bristlenoses never last too long(usually 1month or so).
Parameters are:
PH-6.8
Temp-30*C
Nitrate-10.ppm
Nitrite-0ppm
Ammonia-0ppm

I have researched a bit about bristlenoses and the parameters seem to be fine for them. Does anyone know why they may keep dyeing? It is planted tank with driftwood and lots of what i think is hygrophilia polisperma, anubius (some form-on driftwood) and some amazon swords. I feed them sinking pellets each day and there is plenty of algae too. I will also occaisionally feed lettuce & cucumber.
What am i doing wrong??
Thanx

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 11 May 2007, 13:26

30'C isn't exactly the right temperature for most of the common bristlenoses, but it's not like it's going to kill them immediately either. 26'C or so is more ideal, but your discus aren't going to like that, so you'll have to decide which is more important (and I think you've already told us in the name: "discus tank").

I would suggest, however, that you should give the bristlenoses more vegetable food and less of the meaty stuff (such as "sinking pellets" - even Algae-wafers are pretty high in protein, which is good if it's fed sparingly, but in high doses, it's not good for their digestive system).

If you have plenty of algae in a tank with a bristlenose in it, then you probably have "the wrong kind of algae". Bristlenoses are amongst the best for eating many kinds of algae, but hard spot algae isn't one of those. Hair algae (long stringy bits, looking a bit like sewing thread) is another one they won't eat.

I hope this is of some help.

--
Mats

Henry Di Cristofano · Post by **Henry Di Cristofano** » 11 May 2007, 22:21

I have the same problem as the writer. I'm on my second Bristlenose and I don't think this one will live either. Bought a healthy specimen a week ago and it won't eat anything - not algae, not wafers, not zucchini, not romaine lettuce. It's a twelve gal. Eclipse, about 78 - 80 degrees with a rainbow cichlid and blue gourami which are doing fine. There is a piece of driftwood and two live plants. Dealer checked my water last week and said it was fine. What else can I do? Despite all the positive stuff I read, maybe these plecos are too delicate? I've noticed that the belly is starting to look hollow so I know it's not eating anything - it justs stays stuck to the filter pipe constantly. Death is probably near, but don't know what else to do.

Lornek8 · Post by **Lornek8** » 11 May 2007, 23:45

Henry,
Are you sure that the bn was healthy? How long did the store have it before you bought it? Plecs can sometimes take awhile to get eating. However, bn are typically not that particular. Also, being rather inexpensive fish, they are not always handled with the greatest care.

Do you know the particulars of your water parameters, other than "fine"? How about the particulars of the shops water? It could be that there is a difference between the two and the bn is having difficulty adjusting.

Does the bn have a place to hide? It could be that the other tankmates are harassing the new addition, could be why its not eating.

Finally, when are you feeding the bn? The tankmates can be aggressive eaters and might not be giving the bn a chance to eat.

fishkid951 · Post by **fishkid951** » 12 May 2007, 00:02

Hi again,
i am not sure the type of algae but is on the driftwood and about 0.2cm long. It is not hair algae but i dont know what it is. It is dark green in colour.
I don't see them ever sucking on the veges i give to them(lettuce, cucumber, spinach) and i dont know why....Does any one know why this could be.....dfo i neeed to blanch them first?if so how do i blanch them(what is blanching)
When i add them into the tank they look very happy and the go around and eat abit of algae off the driftwood for the first week or so then they just go quite and dont eat it as much, and cling to the side of the tank/glass.
Thanks alot

Lornek8 · Post by **Lornek8** » 12 May 2007, 00:51

How are you feeding the veggies? Are you weighting them down?

You blanch veggies by pouring boiling water over them or microwaving for a couple of seconds. Blanching isn't required for feeding veggies.

Try zuchinni and peas(unshelled). These are some of the favorite foods people feed plecs.

You can try to "spice up" the veggies with garlic. People will crush garlic and rub it onto veggies prior to feeding or soak the veggies with garlic "juice". There is something in garlic that seems to trigger a feeding response in plecs.

fishkid951 · Post by **fishkid951** » 12 May 2007, 01:36

Hi
will the garlic effect the discus etc? Do you think this is the problem i am having with my BN? I am clamping them on the glass at the bottom with a magnetic cleaner...How am i ment to weight peas down? How do you weight your veges down?
thanks

Lornek8 · Post by **Lornek8** » 12 May 2007, 03:45

The garlic won't effect the discus, in fact some discus breeders use garlic in their food mixtures. Frozen peas are the simplest to feed, just de-shell & drop in, the peas will sink. I use a lettuce clip weighted with aquarium lead to sink the veggies. Some people stick a fork or spoon through the veggie & drop it in the tank.

Henry Di Cristofano · Post by **Henry Di Cristofano** » 12 May 2007, 04:34

Thanks for the reply
The fish was in the store for about two weeks I'm told, and they all seemed healthy. The one I bought was $14 and is about 3-4inches long. It has two plants to hide behind (which it does) and none of the other fish seem to harass it. When I do put algae tabs or zucchini in the tank, I do so after the lights go off. Any suggestions on how to get this fish to eat something would be greatly appreciated. I sympathize with the 14 year old writer!

Lornek8 · Post by **Lornek8** » 12 May 2007, 19:42

Henry try the garlic "supplement" with the food. Often gets the plecs feeding & has some benefit with internal bugs.

Just though of something else, is this a "comon" bn, Ancistus sp. (3)? As they are not typically difficult to get feeding, it culd be something besides an eating problem.

Henry Di Cristofano · Post by **Henry Di Cristofano** » 13 May 2007, 01:47

Lornek8: Thanks for the advice. I will try adding garlic to the zucchini tonight. Last night it actually clung next to the zucchini, but didn't even nibble at it. At least it came out of hiding! Belly is still sunken, though. As far as species, I asked for Ancistrus 3 but the dealer wasn't sure what this one was. It is medium brown, some spots and with pronounced bristles on the nose. Thanks.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 May 2007, 11:20

Just to clarify, we sometimes trhow "Ancistrus sp(3)" around rather nonchalantly as if it's a generally known name of the fish. It is only how Planet Catfish identifies the fish. But any shop for that sell "bristlenose" or "ancistrus" and they don't specify a species, are most likely to be what we call "sp(3)" here. They are the by far most common species.

I can't add anything to the feeding suggestions above, all very good. There's something quite wrong with a that won't eat.

--
Mats

Henry Di Cristofano · Post by **Henry Di Cristofano** » 14 May 2007, 22:56

Hooray - I blanched a slice of zucchini, rubbed it with fresh garlic and put in on a clip, and the bristlenose finally actually nibbled at it. It didn't eat much, but at least it's a start. I'll do it again tonight. It seems to be a bit more active now too. Would recommend the garlic to the 14 year old writer. Thanks.

Henry Di Cristofano · Post by **Henry Di Cristofano** » 18 May 2007, 13:25

This bristlenose still isn't doing too well. It only nibbled at the garlic coated zucchini once. Is hiding more now. Chased it out of a plant this morning. It laid on the gravel for awhile and then tried to stick to the glass. Noticed it had trouble "climbing" the tank wall and finally settled for sticking to a bottom portion of it. Is that normal or a sign that it is becoming weaker? Bought it two weeks ago. Based on all these emails, should I return it to the shop and ask for another one?

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 19 May 2007, 16:54

Many bn are sold or become stunted once they spend time in the dealer's tanks because they are underfed and can become setback too much to vercome this.

If you can get some healthy young from Mat or other breeder they will be much more adaptable and still growing normally. This means their appetites are still good.

I have found earthworm sticks to be an excellent food for rearing BN and most other Loricaridae. They grow faster and therefore can be sold sooner than those raised on zucchini. The vegetables as a supplement food is better than when used as a staple food.

BN are commonly used throughout my discus rearing or breeder holding tanks without problems. I maintain my discus at 84 to 86 dF. The common BN has become very well adapted to aquarium conditions within a wide range of temperature and chemistry conditions. They are my primary algae eater in my discus set ups.
They are very helpful in planted tanks because they do a lot towards keeping leaves free of edible algae growths.