Bristlenoses...

[New Boy]

Hello all,

I posted a week or so back about my bristelnose fish not really eating but cleaning up every bit of algae ever in my tank. Some of you were kind enough to give me advice on what to feed them.

Problem is that there is no algae left and they both have kind of thin poo - sorry if that grosses people out. I've tried lettuce, cucumber, even carrot (all weighted down with lead - all attracted equal interest - zilch!). I've got algae wafers (which they fed them at the fish store) but these get dragged off and ripped apart by the other fish in the tank - please see my sig, all kind of aggressive when it comes to food. I wonder whether they are not used to competing for food as they were in a bristlenose only tank at the lfs.

The other catfish in there, white spotted talkers or raphaels eat everything that I put in for the bristles, DAY or night for anyone who'll suggest otherwise...

Will the bristles survive off the live plants in there (one corner is completely planted)??
Should I resort to catching the bristles and floating them in a breeding trap to familiarise them with cucumber etc??

I would be grateful of any advise

 

[Pufferpack]

Try some frozen bloodworm, your other fish will go nuts for it as well but you can distract them with some on one side of the tank while you give more to the bristlenoses on the other side

 

[Kissifish]

Don't think that because you can't see the algae, you don't have any. I had 2 plecs for 4 years that kept my tank spotless. I also supplemented with algae wafers.

If you're afraid they may be hungry, try the wafers and watch the fireworks. If they don't get exited over them, try feeding them at night. Be sure to remove leftovers the next day.

Sometimes, they'll be shy to eat with you watching, so if the wafer is gone the next AM, you can be pretty sure they are at least getting a nibble. (Other fish like them, too.)