Generel Bristlenose Pleco questions

[Jason7894561230]

Okay here they go
1. Is a bristle nose a catfish or a pleco?
2. How big do they get?
3. are they slow growing?
4. Whht o they eat?
5. will a pepperminnt and normal bristle nose fight

THANKS GUYS

 

[happygirl65]

Hi there! I will answer to the best of my ability. There is a lot of info on the web about them...check out this site The Bristlenose Pleco Info... but to answer your questions from my own experience it is as follows.
1. Pleco
2. About 10 inches by most accounts but mine never exceeded 7
3. They grow fairly rapidly like most plecos do.
4. They will eat algae, shrimp pellets, plants, cucumbers, zuchini, and love to munch on driftwood as well
5. I have never seen a BN fight with anything...but have never paired them with peppermint, I will have to defer to other's experience on this one, but in general they are pretty mild mannered. My personal opinion is that they are a wonderful addition to the aquarium.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Ok but i thought Bristle noses grew slower

 

[mgamer20o0]

1 both. catfish /Siluriformes is a order. they are under Loricariidae / pleco family. bellow is the break down.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Loricariidae
Subfamily: Hypostominae
Tribe: Ancistrini
Genus: Ancistrus

2 there are several different bristlenose plecos out there its a common name that covers many fish. the common ones Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus get to be about 5 inch.
Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

3 mine took about a year year and a half from 1 inch fry to breeding. there are many factors out there.

4 like happygirl said i have fed other fruits and veggies too.

5 they shouldnt fight but when spawning plecos will go at it. i have 2 males in a 60 gallon always going at it.

 

[Jason7894561230]

i have 2 more

6. When can you determine if a bristle nose is a male or female?
7. Are they Nocturnal?

 

[mattrox]

6. Males grow bristles.... when they have bristles they are males... I have two males about 3 inches with very bristly noses. Also read 3. above.

7. Yes, but..... mine are active during the day too. They sometimes are quiet during the day other times not. YMMV

 

[jestes]

Some females grow bristles too, depending on which exact species you get. The tell tale sign is that the males get bristles down the center of their face, not just down their lip. The males will also develop a pink colored patch just behind their eyes whem they are ready to spawn.