L471 grey patch around dorsal fin missing scales, possibly from aggressive Bristlenose

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
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Tabicat28
Posts: 4
Joined: 07 Mar 2020, 17:15
Location 1: Virginia
Location 2: USA

L471 grey patch around dorsal fin missing scales, possibly from aggressive Bristlenose

Post by Tabicat28 »

1. Water parameters
a) Temperature range: 78F
b) pH: 7 - 7.5
c) GH: 30 - 60ppm
d) KH: 40 - 80ppm
e)Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 20ppm
Nitrite: 0
f) Water change frequency: 30% every 7-10 days

2. Tank set up
a) Size: 40 Breeder
b) Substrate: Fluval Stratum capped with river rocks
c) Filtration: Eheim2215 cannister, Eheim Skim350
d) Furnishings: Dragon stone, driftwood, heavily planted, 2 circulation pumps, low tech (no CO2 system)
e) tank mates:
1x L471 Dwarf Hypancistrus ~2inches "Spot" (injured)
1x L107 "super red" Ancistrus sp. ~5+inches (aggressor)
7x yoyo loaches 4-6inches (not involved in pleco drama)
f) How long has it been set-up?: 2 years
g) When was the last new fish added?: 21 months ago
h) Foods used and frequency?:
2x daily: (rotate) fluval bug bites bottom feeder granules, fluval bug bites algae crisps, Hikari bottom feeder wafers, Omega One shrimp pellets
1x weekly: frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp
1x weekly fast day
Occasionally raw or blanched veggies.

3. Symptoms / Problem description

I noticed a grey circlular patch where scales appear to be missing around dorsal fin of L471 (Spot) following apparent bristlenose attack.

Spot tends to be more strictly nocturnal/reclusive in general, and is the smallest fish (~2in) in my heavily planted tank. It's pretty common to go a few weeks at a time without seeing him, but the past two weeks I've caught him hanging out early almost every night (and get excited every time! :X ). I've never seen the other fish in the tank bother him, but they are pretty rambunctious at feeding time so when Spot is out, I drop food on the opposite sides of the tank as a decoy and then drop (the same type of) food near Spot so that he's not caught in a swarm of yoyos.

I did this last night and while Spot was eating I observed my Bristlenose leap onto him and then both darted out of sight. It looked like an ambush, but I've never seen my bn do anything like this before and have always understood them to be peaceful with other fish. About an hour later, Spot was out again and I noticed a grey circle around his dorsal fin where his scales seem to be missing. Since he's been so visible recently, I've gotten a good look at him several times this week and am fairly confident there were no signs of the grey patch prior to the altercation. I've had Spot and 3 of the yoyos for over 2 years and added the bn and 4 yoyos almost 2 years ago - there are no previous instances of illness/injury/disease for any of the fish. My questions:

Does the "ambush" behavior I observed from my bn seem like aggression?

Does the grey patch look like it was caused by my bn? If not, what else could cause it?

If bn is the likely culprit, how should I proceed? Observe? Feed more/differently? Remove bn or Spot from the tank immediately?

Also curious if anyone can help determine sex of both plecos based on the pictures. I suspect they're both male. My bn does have bristles on mouth and head, but they're not very prominent. If it is male, will the bristles get bigger? Idk what characteristics are used to sex L471, but I've observed Spot "fanning" outside his cave and found some evidence that's male behavior.
Attachments
Tank
Tank
BN back
BN back
BN side
BN side
Spot injury1
Spot injury1
Spot injury2
Spot injury2
User avatar
MrRRunner
Posts: 47
Joined: 07 Mar 2011, 20:45
My cats species list: 6 (i:6, k:3)
My aquaria list: 4 (i:1)
Spotted: 6
Location 1: Stafford
Location 2: Staffordshire
Interests: Pleco's

Re: L471 grey patch around dorsal fin missing scales, possibly from aggressive Bristlenose

Post by MrRRunner »

Sorry to hear about Spot and yes it does look like a rasping mark from another plec, keep the water clean and it should eventually heal, Obviously if you could separate them that would be ideal, as it's happened once it will happen again, I would also recommend you get a heater guard as plecs will squeeze into any space when threatened, as for sexing, it very difficult to judge from the pics but to me it does look like you have a Male b/n.
I have bred b/n's in the past and they are generally not aggressive but I have witnessed the odd skirmish.
CHRIS
Tabicat28
Posts: 4
Joined: 07 Mar 2020, 17:15
Location 1: Virginia
Location 2: USA

Re: L471 grey patch around dorsal fin missing scales, possibly from aggressive Bristlenose

Post by Tabicat28 »

Thanks so much for your feedback!

I have a 20 gallon planted tank with no fish in it I can move one of them into. Would that be big enough for the BN? I don't think I could catch Spot without ripping up half the scape.

And I will check on getting a heater guard. Thank you for recommending, I didn't know such a thing existed!
User avatar
MrRRunner
Posts: 47
Joined: 07 Mar 2011, 20:45
My cats species list: 6 (i:6, k:3)
My aquaria list: 4 (i:1)
Spotted: 6
Location 1: Stafford
Location 2: Staffordshire
Interests: Pleco's

Re: L471 grey patch around dorsal fin missing scales, possibly from aggressive Bristlenose

Post by MrRRunner »

Hi, it would be in the short term, (but an Adult bn would be better in your larger tank (just my opinion)) until your L471 heals
Good luck with spot.
CHRIS
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