bristlenose catfish doesnt like pleco logs ??

[Dan_Forbz]

got some bristlenose catfish yesterday, and been watching them alot, one seems to like sitting at the overflow and have the current running on him the whole time, the other disappears under the driftwood, i placed some pleco logs in there for food, but havent seen any eating of them , and to prevent waste and excess ammonia i had to take them out, could they perhaps not like them??

what other foods do they enjoy ?

 

[Lowryder]

They are nocturnal and is best to feed them right after the lights go out. Plus, you just got them, give them some time to settle in their new home.

 

[toddnbecka]

What exactly are pleco logs?

 

[i3k]

It'll be a few days to a week before they start eating. When I bought my albino bristle-nose, I did not see him eat anything I put in the tank. He would only eat the algae off the walls/rock for the first week. A week later he started attacking anything and everything I throw in the tank. He loves flake food, tetra-color tropical granules and of course algae wafers. Like someone else said, give him time to adjust.

 

[HN1]

What exactly are pleco logs?

+1.


As far as other foods.... blanched green veggies (zuc, romaine, etc) and algae wafers are our BNs favorite.

 

[Dan_Forbz]

thanks all, they seem to be doing better today, nibbling a little on the pleco logs, which are essentially just algae wafers in the shape of little logs.

 

[joselito76]

Give them some time I have three and I love them. They already breed 3 times and one of the fry is an albino.

 

[Dan_Forbz]

wow lucky, what are the chances of albino's congrats

 

[joselito76]

Here is a pic of mine

 

[Dan_Forbz]

they are cool my bristlenoses are doing great now the female seems to be a lot larger than the male. smaller is definately a male tho, because of the bristles. and female has none. isn't the male meant to grow faster?

 

[toddnbecka]

Growth rate varies among individual fish, but the males usually end up larger than the females.

 

[Dan_Forbz]

oh okay. anyone know about breeding bristlenose catfish?

 

[toddnbecka]

Hmm, maybe a little...

 

[Dan_Forbz]

can you give any advice please?? lol

 

[toddnbecka]

I spawn mine in a 30L, hard, alkaline water and loads of Najas to help maintain water quality. A pair or trio is best for spawning, one dominant male will do all the work while the rest won't get any love from the females. The "cave" in the pic is a large barncale cluster, but stone or clay spawning caves are more commonly used.
I feed them a staple diet of NLS Grow or Cichlid pellets, spirulina flake, and occaisonally canned green beans. They do like good water circulation, otherwise just feed them well and don't keep anything in the tank that will eat the fry. Males tend the eggs, wigglers, and fry until they've absorbed the yolk sacs and are ready to go off on their own. I leave the fry in the tank with the parents until they're at least 1", then sell or move them into other tanks for further growout.

 

[Dan_Forbz]

thanks heaps i can just see my panchax's having a great feed lol. it is possible to move the spawnsite to another aquarium right? with the male to aerate the eggs, and let them grow in that tank?

 

[toddnbecka]

Yes, you can move them to another tank after they've spawned. Best to use a bowl of water so the eggs aren't exposed to air, and the male isn't disturbed as much. If the male abandons the eggs or kicks them out of the cave they will most likely still develop and hatch. Place them in a net breeder with an airline nearby or close to a filter outflow to keep them aerated.

 

[Dan_Forbz]

kool thanks ill let ya know if they spawn