Bristlenose Pleco...

[Ally555]

I bought a Bristlenose Pleco 5 months ago and it was 3cm long. I just measured it today and it is 4cm long. I thought it would have grown more in that amount of time and I don't know why it hasn't grown much. Is there something wrong with it?

 

[Darkstar]

Is there something wrong with it?

Probably not, any chance you can provide more information like what you're feeding it etc?

 

[Ally555]

When I first got it it was getting fed cucumber everyday. I have got a little bit lazy lately and haven't been puting cucumber in as often , but it still gets fed shrimp pellets if it doesn't get cucumber.

 

[skippy_49nz]

Females are hard to come by but usually stay smaller and grow slower. Maybe u got lucky and have one.

 

[Ally555]

I really want a female!!! So I hope you are right.

I heard that you can sex a bristlenose when they are 6 months old because thats when the males grow their bristles. Is this true? If it is then I would probably have a female then, right?

 

[Tolak]

Cucumber doesn't have a lot of nutrients in it. A better choice, one most commonly used by breeders is zucchini, though any of the squash family is a good choice. Green beans are often fed as well, a variety of veggies is best. Plenty of folks feed spinach & collard greens.

 

[Ally555]

Cucumber doesn't have a lot of nutrients in it. A better choice, one most commonly used by breeders is zucchini, though any of the squash family is a good choice. Green beans are often fed as well, a variety of veggies is best. Plenty of folks feed spinach & collard greens.

Thanks for that info Tolak. I usually either feed cucumber or zucchini.

So does anybody know if my pleco would be a female?

 

[Tolak]

Probably still a little young to tell, though if there aren't any whiskers at all odds are it is a female.

 

[Ally555]

I'll go and check now and have a really good look at it to see if it has any whiskers. I really hope it doesn't!!! And I hope you are right.

 

[Ally555]

From what I can see my pleco doesn't have any whiskers. I can't tell for sure though because it kept hiding. I think it does that just to annoy me!!! LOL