Female Bristlenose?

[Paradise3]

 

how long have you had him/her?
 
i would wait at least a week or two, for them to get used to one another.....
 
give them a bit of time....they arnt going to kill each other

 
That's kind of contradicting yourself

If they are two males there's a good chance the dominant one may actually kill the new one.

 
not contradicting at all....no deaths will occur at their current sizes....
 
geez.....OP i give up.....sorry for helping out...."Paradise" apparently knows it all...so just listen to him/her

 
I'm not saying I know everything but A. You don't know the size of the dominant male and B. The OP has introduced a young, new male into a dominant males territory... That's going to cause problems.

 

[TarkMalbot]

You did say 2 BN in the same tank is usually a disaster and I was asking for trouble and I only got him/her this afternoon thinking it was a female and best to keep them as pairs so I would rather not leave them to it as it seems to upset the whole tank.  My LFS will take it back no problem so it can either stay in the other tank or I will take it back,

 

[JenCliBee]

Ok I have decided it is an under developed male. It has odontodes (although small) on its head and on its pectoral fins and has evertible cheek odontodes which come out at times. I only bought him today after reading they do better kept in pairs and breed easily. I have put him in my other tank and will take him back tomorrow.

 
Males and females will have these mate, usually males are larger as they get more mature/older but generally speaking it really isn't the best way to distinguish between male and females in common BN's... also both males and female have the 'hooks' on the cheeks, these are a defense mechanism and wouldn't be an indication of male and female...however, as i mention previously and you above, it's an under developed male

 

how long have you had it.....when you say your male "doesnt like it" what exactly do u mean?
 
two bristlenoses is normally a disaster regardless of sexes....unless they are breeding size and in proper conditions....
 
which yours are not

 
2 Bristlenoses is not a disaster unless both are male and one is very dominant. I know people who keep 2 females together and things like that.

 
 
please go back and note my wording "normally"....which means generally speaking.....
 
there are exceptions of course....but generally speaking 2 bristlenoses in the same tank is asking for trouble....

 
Then generally speaking you are incorrect, 2 males can live happily together given the space as can 2 females as can a male and female.... there is no gernally about it, given adequet conditions, large enough tank (this doesnt have to be huge) and enough hiding places .... mulktiples will live quite comforatbly and maybe even eventually breed if the conditions are met..... alot of plec keppers that keep bristlesnose will keep a ratio of 2 females to 1 male in a 2 foot setup and have no aggression issues whatsoever.... maybe a little while breeding but thats common in most species of plec. Most of the aggression which will be documented is usually 2 males fighting or male/female fighting while breeding.
 

how long have you had him/her?
 
i would wait at least a week or two, for them to get used to one another.....
 
give them a bit of time....they arnt going to kill each other

 
Infact there is a very high chance one will kill the other or inflict wounds which will get infected and die from. Youasked how long the OP has had the plec which has been mentioned, you also stated him/her which has already been decided also, so giving advice to keep a potential distater together isnt the best advice unfortuneatley.... im suprised youve even contiemplated telling the OP to do this considering you comment above about keeping 2 BN's a distaster?

 

[Mikey1]

 

 

 
The OP has introduced a young, new male into a dominant males territory... .

 
 
no he has not....we dont know if its male or female....you are assuming things

 

[TarkMalbot]

For reference here is the other BN:

 

[Mikey1]

You did say 2 BN in the same tank is usually a disaster and I was asking for trouble and I only got him/her this afternoon thinking it was a female and best to keep them as pairs so I would rather not leave them to it as it seems to upset the whole tank.  My LFS will take it back no problem so it can either stay in the other tank or I will take it back,

 
 
then take him back....end of problem, no further discussion required....end of thread

 

[Paradise3]

 

 

 

 
The OP has introduced a young, new male into a dominant males territory... .

 
 
no he has not....we dont know if its male or female....you are assuming things

 
It's been decided that it's a young underdeveloped male...

 

[Mikey1]

 

 

 

 

 
The OP has introduced a young, new male into a dominant males territory... .

 
 
no he has not....we dont know if its male or female....you are assuming things

 
It's been decided that it's a young underdeveloped male...

 
 
by who?

 

[JenCliBee]

 

how long have you had him/her?
 
i would wait at least a week or two, for them to get used to one another.....
 
give them a bit of time....they arnt going to kill each other

 
That's kind of contradicting yourself

If they are two males there's a good chance the dominant one may actually kill the new one.

 
not contradicting at all....no deaths will occur at their current sizes...."trouble" does not mean they will kill each other
 
geez.....OP i give up.....sorry for helping out...."Paradise" apparently knows it all...so just listen to him/her

At there current size (4 inch) we can assume they are adults, subadults at the very least.... this would be the worst age/size to have two wanna be dominant males in the tank.
 

 

 

 

 
The OP has introduced a young, new male into a dominant males territory... .

 
 
no he has not....we dont know if its male or female....you are assuming things

Yes we do, it has already been confirmed lol, females DO NOT have bristles running up the snout, nor around the head generally, females will only ever at most have bristles around the top lip and even this is quite uncommon in tank bred females (assuming tank bred that is lol) 

 

[Paradise3]

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks it's male... I wasn't sure about the whole bristles up the nose thing but now I do some searching it seems it's commonly seen in males and never seen in females lol.

 

[TarkMalbot]

You did say 2 BN in the same tank is usually a disaster and I was asking for trouble and I only got him/her this afternoon thinking it was a female and best to keep them as pairs so I would rather not leave them to it as it seems to upset the whole tank.  My LFS will take it back no problem so it can either stay in the other tank or I will take it back,

 
 
then take him back....end of problem, no further discussion required....end of thread

 
I will as it seems that most agree that it is a male and not a good idea to keep them together.  Originally I didn't know if the chasing was normal even between male and female until they established themselves but had my doubts so asked the question.

 

[Mikey1]

 

You did say 2 BN in the same tank is usually a disaster and I was asking for trouble and I only got him/her this afternoon thinking it was a female and best to keep them as pairs so I would rather not leave them to it as it seems to upset the whole tank.  My LFS will take it back no problem so it can either stay in the other tank or I will take it back,

 
 
then take him back....end of problem, no further discussion required....end of thread

 
I will as it seems that most agree that it is a male and not a good idea to keep them together.  Originally I didn't know if the chasing was normal even between male and female until they established themselves but had my doubts so asked the question.

 
 
good....end of discussion, take him back, problem solved......next

 

[Baccus]

In the right sized tank I keep multiple female bristle noses without issue mainly because they all have their own selected hidey holes. They even have a male with them and still no issues with aggression. Food also gets scattered in the tank so there is no fighting or argie bargie over choice foods.
In a seperate 4ft tank I have a breeding pair of bristle noses and the only time the male will show agression is if another mature male is put in the tank with him and his girl. The agression is only ever directed at the other male, never at the other tank inhabitants which is a really good thing.
And just for the record when a male is wanting to breed and show off his nesting hollow he will persue the female but not to harm her, more to guide her to his abode. I never take the females out while the male is guarding his eggs and the females even stay with the male when the fry are out and about looking for food.
Mum with her bubs

 
So Tarkmalbot, if you are happy to keep the male in a sperate tank he will be fine and claim his own territory. If you chose to return him to the pet shop then that is entirely your choice, and well within your rights since you did want a female. It can be really hard getting either a male or female BN ( depending on what you want), I had to buy 5 or 6 Juvi's and let them mature until I had two pairs. And getting mature fish usually also means a higher price tag.
Just remember if you do get a female male sure she has her own private little hidey hole where she feels safe, males and females may live together quite well but they do still need their seperate hollows.

 

[TarkMalbot]

Thanks for that info. He is doing fine in the other tank and set about cleaning all the silicone round the tank and isn't causing any problems with any of the other fish so I think he is going to stay. The LFS often get them in of all sizes so I will keep my eye out.