Bristlenose And Pictus Setup

[Jake Jackson]

Okay, like I said in another post, I have 4 fish, 2 pictus and 2 bristlenose housed in a 10 gal tank. Pictus are 2 inch, and Bristlenose are 1.25 inches. So, how should I try and setup the tank? It has sand, it has a rock formation and few artificial plants... should I try and maximize open floor space? Just leave plants? How should I set it up?

 

[DiscusAngel]

your pictus are likley to gobble up them bn's and also grow too big for the tank

 

[littleme1969]

Yes that way too many for a 10g. Youd get away with the 2 BNS in there but I wouldnt add anymore of the plec variety.
Lots of places to hide is the way to go, BNs love lots of hiding places/caves plus a few plants round the edges for something to clean. Living plants are better.

 

[DarkEntity]

Funny Pictus seem to be a fashionable fish again, a friend came home to see thier Pictus with a baby Angel in its mouth lol

 

[LisaLQ]

I'd go one further and say even the BNs shouldn't be in a 10g. They can get to 6", maybe you could get one in a 15g, but certainly not a pair in a 10g. Although it will do temporarily while they're small until you can get a bigger tank

 

[Jake Jackson]

No, they 4 fish will only be together in the 10gal for about a month and a half. Just long enough for me to get the 55gal setup w/o breaking the budget. The bristlenose are over half the size of the pictus, one bristlenose is a little bigger and lighter than the other. I'll look through some pics, and see if I cant find some that resemble the ones I have.

 

[nath1]

my bristlenose and pictus seem to get on o.k. together. the only time ive ever had probs was when the b.n's breed and the pictus hovered up all the babies!!!
my b.n are about 3" and my pictus are 6" & 7".
have to agree the tank needs upgrading as soon as possible as the pic,s are rapid growers and very hectic!!
nath1

 

[Jake Jackson]

http/www.planetcatfish.com/images/full/l...us/sp(3)/52.jpg

I believe my bristlenose are this species, because mine also have the flares of yellow on the tips of the tails...

They both have the tip colors, but one has a brown tone sorta like this one below, but the yellow dots aren't as intense

http/www.planetcatfish.com/images/full/l...rus/sp(3)/4.jpg

 

[cahnnarel]

Those links aren't working, but I went on pc and had a look, do you mean the veiltail ones?, interesting as both my young bn's have the same tips on their tails, their other fins are see through and black ! Or are all bn juveniles like this?

 

[LisaLQ]

A lot of common bns have the white tips, yep

A very naff pic of mine (RIP) when he was a baby:

 

[Jake Jackson]

The tips of mine are yellow/gold.

 

[cahnnarel]

Lisa,

That's a great pic! I was trying to get photo's last night but they are just too fast

 

[LisaLQ]

Haha - know that feeling - I do have better pics of him but his tail is flattened in it so you cant see the tips. He was always a nightmare to get a pic of as he was always hiding, and would come out when the camera was on charge Sadly he became even more elusive, and then after a week of not seeing him we realised we weren't going to again. He was in my hubby's 6ft planted at the time, despite a good search we never found his body.

A few more baby pics of him:

The last pic we got of him shortly before he disappeared - as you can see, he had his bristles then, but he was only about 2-3" max including tail:

Not to fear though, we still have Wilf and Wilma in my tank:

 

[Bloo]

should I try and maximize open floor space? Just leave plants? How should I set it up?

Bn & Pictus are fine together. As long as you have the right setup. In my opinion a minimum of 4ft long for the Pictus and no less than 50 gallons. Make sure you have plenty of open space for the pictus to swim around - so try to keep decor to the middle so that they can swim around the sides. Pictus go crazy for live bloodworm so give as a treat every couple of weeks or so. If you can't get live, then frozen (thawed) will do.

 

[Jake Jackson]

One more quick question...

Will the bristlenose and albino bristlenose coexist? I think I read sometimes the different colors of same species sometimes brings out aggression.

Also, is there another type of plec/catfsh that can be housed w/ African Cichlids?