Bristlenose... Or common...?

[Nicho]

I bought a pleco a few weeks ago and since the LFS just had them en masse and under a single name (local to where I live, we just call em Taters), I just chose one.

I was under the impression it is most likely a common pleco, but as far as I understand it shouldnt have ANY bristles.

This guy has two fairly prominent (but tiny) bristles at the tip of his nose, and a few more sets on either side that are about half the size of the ones on the tip.

Am I to say it's a bristlenose? Because it is not bushy or anything... I tried to get a picture, you can see two tiny blurry dots above his nose, those are the two main bristles. The others are too small to see with my lame Blackberry camera.

 

[ccross]

I bought a pleco a few weeks ago and since the LFS just had them en masse and under a single name (local to where I live, we just call em Taters), I just chose one.

I was under the impression it is most likely a common pleco, but as far as I understand it shouldnt have ANY bristles.

This guy has two fairly prominent (but tiny) bristles at the tip of his nose, and a few more sets on either side that are about half the size of the ones on the tip.

Am I to say it's a bristlenose? Because it is not bushy or anything... I tried to get a picture, you can see two tiny blurry dots above his nose, those are the two main bristles. The others are too small to see with my lame Blackberry camera.

Pretty sure thats a common. All pleco's have those little "horns" I believe. At least any I've owned have

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Depends on how old it is. How big is yours? You may have a female, they have small bristles. Maybe a young female?

 

[smomus]

It's how they "breath" and still be able to maintain suction.

 

[phoenixkiller]

I bought a pleco a few weeks ago and since the LFS just had them en masse and under a single name (local to where I live, we just call em Taters), I just chose one.

I was under the impression it is most likely a common pleco, but as far as I understand it shouldnt have ANY bristles.

This guy has two fairly prominent (but tiny) bristles at the tip of his nose, and a few more sets on either side that are about half the size of the ones on the tip.

Am I to say it's a bristlenose? Because it is not bushy or anything... I tried to get a picture, you can see two tiny blurry dots above his nose, those are the two main bristles. The others are too small to see with my lame Blackberry camera.

It's a common Plecostamus. Bristlenoses would have many more bristles than just two. What size tank is going to be his home forever? They do need rather large tanks when they pass 12 inches IMO.

Plecos are cool, but I dislike the Commons because they have one of the biggest bio-loads of any fish I know. The smaller ones are better, the Albino Bristlenoses are the prettiest. Not bad though! Good luck! (By the way, I say good luck to everyone, no matter what the question.)

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

It's a common Plecostamus. Bristlenoses would have many more bristles than just two. What size tank is going to be his home forever? They do need rather large tanks when they pass 12 inches IMO.

Plecos are cool, but I dislike the Commons because they have one of the biggest bio-loads of any fish I know. The smaller ones are better, the Albino Bristlenoses are the prettiest. Not bad though! Good luck! (By the way, I say good luck to everyone, no matter what the question.)

Until you know the age of the pleco you wont be able to determine if it is even old enough to have bristles. Bn plecos are not born with bristles btw.

 

[Nicho]

Yeah he's in there very temporarily. Alrighty, I was reading that commons have no signs of horns or anything. Was just curious cause of his/her abnormality haha.

Oh and this tank is ridiculously temporary Getting a new tank delivered... If the lazy fish people remembered to place the order for me. Thnx all

 

[ccross]

Yeah he's in there very temporarily. Alrighty, I was reading that commons have no signs of horns or anything. Was just curious cause of his/her abnormality haha.

Oh and this tank is ridiculously temporary Getting a new tank delivered... If the lazy fish people remembered to place the order for me. Thnx all

I have 2 commons. Both have small black horns. Maybe I just live too close to the nuke plant

 

[phoenixkiller]

Yeah he's in there very temporarily. Alrighty, I was reading that commons have no signs of horns or anything. Was just curious cause of his/her abnormality haha.

Oh and this tank is ridiculously temporary Getting a new tank delivered... If the lazy fish people remembered to place the order for me. Thnx all

I trust you will cycle the new tank? And do you have algae wafers for him while you wait for the tank to cultivate algae?

 

[ccross]

If by chance he does turn out to be a BN, you'll wanna get yourself a piece of driftwood for him to chow on. I read that if they dont have the right diet the bacteria in thier stomachs die off and they starve to death. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I know that wood should be in the tank, and a good food source is cucumbers and other veggies

 

[Mumma.of.two]

It looks like a bn pleco to me but the pics are quite blurry. How long is the fish?

 

[ccross]

If I drop a cucumber in my tank, my BN will chase anything that gets near it. HE also likes to eat cichlid pellets. Funny to watch him swim to the top, suck one into his mouth and then try to swim to the bottom without losing it. Then he just sits and sucks on it.

 

[Nicho]

Yeah most definitely, when I get the new tank i'm breaking down this one, so all the gravel and filters are moving over.

How will I know if it's a BN? It's maybe about 3 inches right now. Has dark skin and white polka dots (not ich).