Bristlenosed pleco advice

[missgingersnap]

Hi all! I just bought a bristlenosed pleco tonight and he is quite the handsome fella. I read somewhere that they need bogwood in the tank. I guess they like to munch on it? Will he be ok without it? I don't really have room for any more decorations. Do I put just one algae wafer in a day? Also...how often should I put veggies in the tank and what do they like best? Thanks!

 

[brutus]

They need wood to help digest food.

 

[colematthewmalaka]

They need wood to help digest food.

I have a question and i'm not trying to steal a thread, do all plecos need wood in their diet? Will my sailfin pleco be fine without wood or should i get him some.

 

[darkmule27]

With our BN, we put in an algae wafer every other day (he loves it...swoops over it, drags it back to his cave...too funny) or less. We have the same problem with driftwood and decorations, so our plan right now is to cut our piece into pieces small enough for his "lair".

BN also love fruit and veggies. Weight down some cucumber or zucchini and he will be a happy fellow. Ours tolerates banana, but will go crazy for other stuff.

 

[cbwmn]

BN's need wood.
You can just find a small piece, waterlog it and they'l feed on that.
I have a 24 g tank that I put the driftwood in first to see if it's fish safe.
The stock is 2 Buenos Aires Tetras and 3 Sunset gouramis. So far, any wood I've tried is OK.
I ahve read that resinous woods like pine are not good.
I feed mine blanched squash or zuccini when the lights turn off. If I don't feed them squash, they suck the juice out of the swordplants.
Charles

 

[missgingersnap]

So, i got some wood. It says malaysian natural aquascaping wood. Is that the right stuff?

 

[cbwmn]

So, i got some wood. It says malaysian natural aquascaping wood. Is that the right stuff?

I think it'll be OK.
Do you have a tank with snails or inexpensive fish you can try it in?

I think Malaysian DW is tan with dark brown splotches on it.
It's aquatic safe.
Charles

 

[susankat]

Malaysian driftwood is aquarium safe and the bristlenose will like it.

 

[Phoenixphire55]

I also have a BN and he hasn't had any wood even that I know of. I knew he needed wood but I forgot, so thanks for the reminder. He's the only other fish in a tank that will be inhabited by shell dweller cichlids so their water needs to be very hard and alkaline. I'm worried that if I put any wood in the tank it will lower the pH. I've heard BN plecos are great with these small african cichlids, so I'm not sure how to work that out.

 

[missgingersnap]

Thanks everyone. I put the wood in and he hasn't discovered it yet....but then he never comes out of hiding. lol
phoenix....I think if it's a small enough piece it shouldn't affect your ph much. Hopefully someone will have something to add to that since I'm new at this. But I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere.

 

[missgingersnap]

Well, he discovered the wood and seems to like it. I still only see fleeting glimpses of him though. Hopefully he'll start coming out more.