Introduction to Bristlenose Pleco
The Bristlenose Pleco are a common fish amongst beginners, they are an amazing tank cleaner, are easy to find, and require little maintenance. Their small size makes them easier to maintain than the common vampire pleco, but they share similar colors. Their ability to keep algae levels low make them not only a beautiful addition to your tank but also the first line of defence against a messy tank.
The Bristlenose Pleco is also known as: The Bristlenose Catfish, Bushynose Catfish, Common Bristlenose Catfish and Brushmouth Pleco, but it’s actual scientific name is Ancistrus.
Here is a simple overview of the Bristlenose Pleco so you can get an idea of what is required to maintain it.
| Maximum Size | 5 – 7 Inches | |
| Minimum Tank Size | 30 Gallons | |
| Preferred Tank Set-Up | Hiding Spots Such As Caves Or Plants | |
| Family | Loricariidae | |
| Diet | Omnivore (Mostly Herbivore) | |
| Colors | Black, Brown, Olive Or Grey With White Or Yellow Spots | |
| Temperature Required | 60 to 80 Degrees Fahrenheit or 15 to 26 Degrees Celsius | |
| pH Required | 5.5 to 7.6 | |
| Natural Habitat | Rivers And Lakes |
Bristlenose Pleco Temperament + Tank Mates
The Bristlenose Pleco is quite a friendly and peaceful fish, as they spend most of their time sucking on the wall and floor of your tank. It’s as sturdy as it is beautiful, allowing it to be around aggressive tank mates. Its spiny dorsal fin will keep other fish from attacking it, and its rough skin acts as armor. This pretty pleco will hang around most friendly community fish without a problem.
The recommended amount of Bristlenose in a tank is 2, if your tank is at least 40 gallons . You should avoid keeping two males in one tank as they can become very territorial and aggressive.
Tank Requirements
The Bristlenose Pleco is a very sturdy fish and will adapt to many different situations but in its preferred habitat has temperature that ranges between 15.5 degrees celsius to 26 degrees Celsius or 60 degrees fahrenheit to 80 degrees fahrenheit. Their preferred pH is between 5.5pH and 7.6pH. As it’s not too alkaline or too acidic.
It likes Tanks with many hiding spots, driftwood structures and caves are what we would recommend as they are easy to find and easy to aquascape with, but keep in mind your tank should be well oxygenated and properly filtered. Water hardness should be around 20 to 25, the minimum tank size for these fish is 30 gallons.
The use of an under gravel water system is highly recommended and canister filters also as they don’t create much water flow and don’t disturb the fish very much. One of the problems you might encounter would be your fish rushing to the top of your tank for air, this means that there is too much ammonia in your tank and you require more oxygen.
Keep in mind that Plecos produce a lot of waste so water changes and tank clean ups must be done once a week, but never clean the filter and change the water in the same week, the amount of good bacteria lost in the filter is almost too much for the fish to handle, changing the water and cleaning the filter would damage the fish or even kill your fish. Juveniles are very delicate to these types of things so if you are a beginner we would recommend you buy an adult Bristlenose Pleco.
Feeding and Diet
Bristlenoses mainly eat vegetables but still require proteins from other animals, they will feed on bloodworms and on protein food or pellets.
Algae isn’t enough for their veggie diet, leaving food capsules at the bottom of the tank is recommended as the food is easily accessible to them and will not likely be eaten by the other fish. Bristlenose Pleco fry will mainly feed on algae but you should add the occasional food capsule is healthy for the fish
Their diet should be an 80 to 85 percent veggie or plant matter and 15 to 20 percent protein.
Every now and then you can feed them zucchini or blanched vegetables.
Here is a list of Vegetables that you could feed your Pleco:
Zucchini
Squash
Cucumber (without seeds)
Lima Beans
Peas (remove shell before serving)
Broccoli
Cabbage
Lettuce
Spinach
I would personally recommend only feed the plecos these blanched vegetables once every two weeks, as their food capsules provide everything they need.
Plecos are nocturnal fish and only eat twice a day, overfeeding fish is a common cause of death amongst beginners.
Bristlenose Breeding
There are many things to keep in mind when breeding Bristlenose Pleco, like the amount of fry and eggs that will survive you also want to have 2 caves for each male in your tank as they will fight for the caves and will eat each others eggs when given the chance. As all fry do, the Bristlenose Pleco fry will start out quite small and will be in danger of predators such as bigger fish or pretty much any fish, removing the eggs before the fry hatch is recommended (eggs take 4-10 days to hatch). The fry will reach the size of their parents by 6 months old.
(steps on )How To Breed Bristlenose Plecos:
Step 1: Identify the male and female Bristlenose in your tank. You can identify them by the size and location of their bristles, the males will have larger bristles on their head while the females with have smaller bristles on the sides of their mouths. Keeping a 2 (females) to 1(male) female to male ratio is recommended.
Step 2: Provide a cave for your fish. Caves and/or driftwood work for your fish, the female will only deposit the eggs if she thinks that the cave is fit for the fry. If the the female decides that the cave is fit she will lay bright orange eggs which will be fertilized by the male. The males will aerate the eggs with their fins.
Step 3 (optional): Remove the already fertilized eggs with anything that they are attached to and the male, this step should only be used if there are any fish which would eat the fry.
Keep in mind breeding Plecos will not work 100% of the time and changing the male to female ratio or adding caves will help. And if you don’t want to sex your Plecos you can always buy males or females online.
Here are a few videos that’l help you learn to breed your Bristlenose pleco.
Where to find Bristlenose Pleco
Online:
U.S. : www.liveaquaria.com has a variety of colours for Bristlenose Plecos for a fair price, the only problem being it only ships to the U.S.
Canada: https://www.thatpetplace.com has an amazing selection of Plecos in general including Blue Phantoms and Golden Vampire, the only problem being that the fish sell out quickly.
UK: https://www.realaquatics.co.uk/fish/tropical-fish/pleco this site does not have the best selection of Plecos but if your looking for the common Bristlenose Pleco they currently have two different options to pick from: The common Bristlenose Pleco and the Gold Ancistrus Pleco.
Fishing:
The only place where you could fish for Pleco would be in South America, more specifically Panama or Costa Rica, there isn’t a specific river, but they are commonly found in places with high water flow,dark waters and even somewhat acidic water.
you are disturbing their habitats and disrupting the food chain whenever you fish. I personally would not fish for Plecos unless you live in Costa Rica or Panama.
It is really easy to buy online and you get to choose gender, age and color.
Are Plecos Suited for your Aquarium
I would only buy Plecos for my aquarium if I have the extra space and could help with algae, but they are a beautiful addition to a tank, I personally do not think that Plecos should be the star of the aquarium, they do well with other fish like Zebra Danios or Neon Tetras, those fish are beautiful and not aggressive, they are the perfect partner for Bristlenose Pleco. I wouldn’t recommend keeping more than 2 Plecos in your tank if you are not going to breed.