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Bristlenose Plec setup - any advice appreciated

LeTigra

Member
Joined
23 Jan 2009
Messages
37
Location
South Wales
So my housemates moving out and my OHs moving in. I have held back on the tank-front as I haven't wanted to clutter the place up with my stuff while she's been here but my lovely OH has granted me whatever space I want for a new tank :twisted: heehee

I'm thinking BNPs -a little breeding project, just the common ones - there's something about albino fish that just doesn't do it for me. I like the brown ones. I've been googling them but haven't found a good website about them yet. I know their basic needs but I have questions about their setup, tank size, etc.

I think 1 male to 2 female seems sensible in a 30x12x12 - does that sound ok? Thats a "20g long" right?
And I know they like lots of hideys/caves. But how about the substrate - sand or gravel? Fine gravel or larger? I have plenty of bogwood for rasping and will use low light plants like Java fern and mosses.

If I have an internal filter can I wrap polypads (if thats what they're called - those white filter pads that sit at the top of a Juwel filter) around the inlets so reduce the risk of babies being sucked in? How many times per hour should the water go through the filter?

Can I have an open top safely with a small light that attaches to the rim of the tank? I don't need fancy lighting - I know these fish prefer lower light levels anyway, but I don't want to find my plecs on the floor......

And I'd like to keep them with Cherry shrimp or possibly a group of small peaceful fish - any suggestions on the small peaceful fish appreciated. Does anything exist that has a mouth too small to eat a BNP baby?

And lastly - this is my first time breeding anything fish-related. I'm quite excited! And I apologise for all the questions
Thank you in advance
 
I've always fancied this project myself. Bristlenoses aren't difficult to breed at all and the tank size/fish number sounds perfect.

As you said, make sure there are a lot of caves for them to hide in, make territories and breed in. They like well-airiated tanks so plants will provide that for them. Stay away from broad-leaved plants, because they can suck on the leaves which the plants won't appreciate.

Plecs tend to be messy fish so I wouldn't recommend an internal filter at all. Get an external with at least ten times turnover of your tank volume. An open topped tank should be fine.

As for tankmates, Cherry Shrimp are fine. Bristlenoses might eat some of the young but won't pose too much of a threat. You could also consider some of the smaller Tetras and Rasboras that should leave a baby Plec alone with sufficient conditions.

Hope this helps. ;)
 
The only thing you will need is patience! Unless you can buy some large adults already then they need a while to grow to breeding size IME. Give them some caves that are a really tight squeeze as the my male always liked those to breed in. Once they do give them lots of greens and algae and they'll keep on breeding. The babies and adults really like Nori algae sheets IME.
 
Great!
Thank you both
As for size and allowing them to grow - I have seen them absolutely tiny in shops, maybe just 2cm! At that size there would be no way to tell male from female so I'd haveto get a few and hope I got at least one of each - but that would mean selling off the "spares" or just giving them their own tank...... Hmmmm...... :lol:

If I bought adults, whats a reasonable price to pay per fish? And there's lots of different ones that come under "common" aren't there? Is it best to get them from the same place to ensure they're the same fish or to get them from differnt sources to ensure a good mix of genes?

Again - thank you!
 
If I bought adults, whats a reasonable price to pay per fish? And there's lots of different ones that come under "common" aren't there? Is it best to get them from the same place to ensure they're the same fish or to get them from differnt sources to ensure a good mix of genes?

From a shop, for a full size mature adult, maybe about £10 or so per fish.
From a breeder, less.
Getting them from different sources would be good, but that doesn't guarantee you a mix of genes - they could still be related!
 
gratts said:
Getting them from different sources would be good, but that doesn't guarantee you a mix of genes - they could still be related!

Very true.
And thank you for your reply
I'll keep an eye out for any breeders around here. I'm not against paying pet shop prices, I just think its better to get stock from someone who knows their own and has "home-grown" fish
 
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