Bristlenose catfish,

[yellowsky]

i was at the fish shop today and saw some of these guys, they were still babies roughly 4cm head to tail and they looked fat and wide like a pleco but had some short whisker thingys in the front,
what i want to know is what they are like when they grow up,
and also if they stay fat and wide and short or if they slim down and get more streamlined..
i really like the pictures of these fish but as these seem to be young i want to know more about them..
also how long does it take to grow them , thx,

 

[breezer40]

If they have whiskers then they will be males (females don't have them). They grow to around 5" and personally I love um

Here is a link to some pics and the one of the males head should give you an idea of what the adult will end up like.

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...cistru/49_f.php

 

[yellowsky]

thx

 

[Peachybrown]

Me love them too! Would a pair of male be suitable? How easy do they breed? - Coz if two males aren't suitable, i will be geting male and female, i have to get a male.. i love his bristles. lol

 

[breezer40]

Males do fight unless they have loads of room to stake out there own domain and even then they tend to want what the other has. Best bet is to go for a male and one or two females if you have the space.

When they are ready to breed the male is the home maker normally in a cave and when the eggs are laid he guards them..What a guy

 

[kribs mate]

its damned near impossible to sex them when they are juveniles though. FYI

 

[Doggfather]

females do have a few whiskers, males have a whole lot though

 

[kribs mate]

only when they grow. its near impossible to tell when they are small

 

[yellowsky]

what will the brisltenose do if it doesnt like the other male, cos they dont seem dangerous....
and when they grow to their max size , will they attack small fish, and how long does it take for them to grow up? thx

 

[breezer40]

I had two males together for a while and they would chase each other around the tank but at the time they had very few whiskers so no real harm came. I guess as the whiskers grow that could be painful if they got into a fight. As for attacking other fish..They have been gentle as kittens even with small fry so unless anyone knows different I'd say they are a very good community fish.

They do take a while to grow. I have had mine now for around 4 months and they are about 3-4ins but they were very tiny when I first got them. I found it very hard to sex them as both the males and the female all looked the same untill they reached around 2 ins..it was then the whiskers started to grow. Another thing I have noticed is the males and female have a different head/nose shape. My females has a long pointy nose where as the males have a flatter rounder nose.

 

[yellowsky]

thx,
curious but how many in a tank do you have and how big a tank?