Bristlenose Plecos

Taratron · Post by **Taratron** » 25 Jun 2003, 05:19

Do these guys need driftwood to munch on, or is algae and vege matter enough?

Kostas · Post by **Kostas** » 25 Jun 2003, 08:10

Hi,
Bristle nose plecos need driftwood to chew on and to supplement their diet and from my experience they spend a lot of time eating it.Also bristle noses sometime create their own hollows in wood by constant rasping in which to hide in.

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 25 Jun 2003, 08:22

Actually it depends on the species; unlike Panaque, Panaquolus, Cochliodon, Peckoltia etc wich DO need driftwood, always;
Bristlenoses often do fine without.
This is the reason why they do well, and even flourish and breed (!) in tanks without any driftwood and often very different waterparameters, like tanks containing fish from Malawi or Tanganyika.

If you put a Panaque in such a tank it'll die eventually, but Bristlenoses are very strong and adapt well to a non-wood dinner and different waterparameters too. Just make sure they have plenty algae, and other veggie food like cucumber, peas or spirulina etc next to the usual fishfood.

The Common Bristlenose is THE most succesful Loricariid in the hobby, can be kept in almost any tank (save brackish, I think), and only a direct hit with a WMD will finish it off....

Kostas · Post by **Kostas** » 25 Jun 2003, 10:24

Hi,
Everything you said is right SG_Eurystomus but even thought bristle noses are very adaptable to water parametres and diet,i have found that they grow faster,breed faster and that they have greater resistance to diseases if they are kept under their ideal contitions.

Taratron · Post by **Taratron** » 26 Jun 2003, 21:36

Since this will be a 20 gallon tank, about how big does the driftwood need to be?

Kostas · Post by **Kostas** » 27 Jun 2003, 08:35

Hi,
At least twice the pleco size...Lets say 10".