Bristlenose Catfish

[bigfish]

Hiya

I would like to get 2 Bristlenose catfish for my 83litre Fluval Duo tank upstairs i my bedroom as i saw some at the pet store but were a £5 each of the little guys, didn't give much info on them as size and wot they eat etc.

So i wanna know

How big?
Wot they eat?
Are they compatable with cories?
Are they suitable for a tank with ph of 7.4?

Think they look sooooo cute

 

[LadyMinion]

Bristlenose are great fish!

1) They get up to around 6 inches (although very slowly)
2) They eat algae and any scraps your other fish might leave
3) They'll be fine with cories
4) Ph sounds fine to me

And yes, they are incredibly cute!

 

[LadyMinion]

btw, here's a link for more info at Planet Catfish

 

[bigfish]

Aww thanks for that, i had a peak and i'm convinced me to get some but i don't have much money at the moment as i'm waiting to get paid which won't be till the middle of the month. But i guess it be well worth the wait!!!

 

[smithrc]

if your using the standard filtration
you'll need to up it a lot for your current stock and the 2 new bristlenoses.

 

[flash]

Anyone know how old/large a bristlenose gets b4 their bristles form?

 

[northpaul]

im no expert but mine as started to get loads and its only 4 months old

 

[smithrc]

its size related... after about 1.5" or 2" the males should get bristles.

If there are veryfew / no bristles - it'll be a female.

 

[flash]

cheers.

Mines tiny at the mo (Bristlenose before any one leaves any rude remarks!) Guess I'll have to wait for Him/her to grow.

 

[bunjiweb]

Mine is less than 5 months old and is over 3.25" and has nice bristle formation already.

So, i would disagree with people saying they grow slowly. If they are fed well on a varied diet and are in a nice big tank they will thrive. However, I would deffinatly reccomend at least one for your tank, but im not sure about 2..

Ben

 

[smithrc]

yep fed propperly the grow really well

our first fry are 5 months old today and the 1 male we kept is about 2.5" and has a good head of hair (well bristles).