Bristlenose

[skimpy]

Hi guys

On Saturday i got a Bristlenose Catfish. He is really lovely. The brown algae that i had in my tank is nearly all gone, he is a really hard worker.

Today I looked and looked for him over a two hour period and could not see him anywhere, I was getting really worried.

I needed to change the white filter in my box and when I pulled out the old one, there he was sitting on top of the white filter. He is back safely in the tank now.

Is this unusual I have a jewel tank so it is a black box in the corner with slits in the side that suck in the water. The slits look far too small for my bristlenose (called Harry the Hover) to fit through.? Could this harm him?

Please help I don't want him to get hurt!

 

[skimpy]

Can I add a second question to above. I bought a small piece of Bog wood for the Bristle Nose Catfish. How long do you all recommend soaking it for.

My (trusted) lfs recommends 6 weeks - My (local not sure) lfs recommends 3 days?

 

[JamesTasker]

If you dont want it to colour the water then soak it until the water in which it is soaking stays colourless. In practice it will still colour a little. It will take about a week I would say. Also, I like to soak it in boiling water first.

 

[skimpy]

how long in boiling water. Do you boil it for 1 hour, or do you mean just pour boiling water over it?

 

[JamesTasker]

I don't think it really matters. I just poured boiling water over mine and then soaked it for a week, changing the water once or twice a day.

 

[skimpy]

thanks

 

[Captain Canuck]

I have a large stock pot that I use for making beer and boiling bogwood. Usually I just let it simmer for several hours, changing out the water whenever it looks like dark tea. Then I let it soak for a week before adding it to the tank.

If the bogwood still leaches tanins into your tank, carbon should remove the colour for you and eventually the wood will stop leaching tanins into your tank.

 

[gadazobe]

I've also got a jewel tank and a bristlenose in it Is your bristlenose very young and still small? coz there's no way that my one could fit throught the slats in the box. Is it possible that yours slipped in the hole where the filter outlet comes into the tank? Other than that, maybe he got into the filter over the top and managed to move the removable cover. I hope he doesn't make a habit of sneaking into the filter coz it might cause a nasty accident if he gets into the outlet tube