Is My Bristlenose Catfish Doing Ok?

[tameem]

I just purchased a bushynose catfish the other day from a LFS. The catfish was active in the tank at the store, and sucking on algae.
For the last two days, the catfish doesn't move much, doesnt seem to actively eat algae. I even dropped a wafer right next to it, and it didnt show much interest. It moved over it but I didnt notice it to suck the algae. It doesnt harm any of the cories. In fact, they swim around and above.

My tank is well established, at least 2 months now and in good health. Is the catfish still going through acclimation right now? It just lies motionless, but it does move here and there. Last night it spend its first night in the fake cave and now its outside.
Maybe Im concerned for no reason.

 

[tameem]

anyone?? I just dropped an algea wafer right on his nose and he didnt care, or even moved. He was real active in the lfs. or maybe he isn't hungry?

 

[england]

hi i would say that your bristlenose is normal as youve just brought it,,usual to turn nose up at food,,,,try desheeled peas they like these,,,,
ok to you fish, these small plecs are catfish and as all<most catfish they are twilight fish so will either show there faces at dusk time or show there faces only when its pitch black,,,,,,,i have a breeding pair of bristles and the females out most of the time where as you never ever see the male except when lights have been out on tank for a long while,,,,also i have a candy stripe plec which you can go for months on end with out seeing her,,i know shes ok because you can see her in her spot wiggling her tail

 

[dave1987]

they usually take a while to settle i just use to throw a bit of food in before bed and turn the lights off and they always seemed ok and the food was gone in the morning try a bit of cucumber they love that

 

[JasonO53]

I wouldn't worry too much. Mine do the same thing. Sometimes you wont see them all day, and the next they are all over the place eating everything. I must be doing something right though as they are breeding like rabbits

 

[orange shark]

Yeah it's probably just a little stressed after its move!

 

[WillyRBeek]

I've had my bristlenose for about 2 months now, and it's not overly active, but seems to be in good health. A lot of times they'll find a place to hide and hide out there till the lights go out, then they come out to feed. I know that's what mine does. He'll hide in or under the sunken ship pretty much all day, then when I shut out the light, before too long i'll see him out and about.

Also I seen someone mention in here that bristlenoses love cucumber. I've tried feeding mine cucumber, but I have a hard time getting it to sink to the bottom. Is there some sort of trick to it or what?

 

[Sofia]

stick some plant weights on the cucumber slice or stick it through a fork or a spoon handle, or shove it under a rock!

 

[tameem]

Thanks for your replies. I was just hoping to see him stuck on the glass, which I enjoy watching. Instead, he is now in the cave. But again, he appears healthy and does move around a bit. Its just funny because the cute cories will swim on top of him and it doesn't seem to bother him.

 

[tameem]

He is okay! I just went downstairs and he is stuck on the front of the glass. And he wiggles over a little each time.

 

[RedeyesUK]

Good to hear!

My BN was the complete opposite when I got him - when I first introduced him to the tank, he hid away and did nothing, just like yours. That lasted about, ooh, 5 minutes! Straightaway he was out cleaning, in a seemingly non-stop frenzy of activity. He cleaned pretty much the whole tank of algae more or less overnight.

I don't tend to worry about fish behavior for the first few days after introducing them, unless they're obviously sick or distressed - it's a fairly big upheaval, and some fish simply take longer than others to get over it.

They're cute when they do the glass sucking thing!

 

[WillyRBeek]

Good to hear!

My BN was the complete opposite when I got him - when I first introduced him to the tank, he hid away and did nothing, just like yours. That lasted about, ooh, 5 minutes! Straightaway he was out cleaning, in a seemingly non-stop frenzy of activity. He cleaned pretty much the whole tank of algae more or less overnight.

I don't tend to worry about fish behavior for the first few days after introducing them, unless they're obviously sick or distressed - it's a fairly big upheaval, and some fish simply take longer than others to get over it.

They're cute when they do the glass sucking thing!

Ya mine was almost the exact opposite, lol. As soon as I let him out of the bag he went right to the glass and started to clean...Then about 5-10mins later I didn't see him again for like 3 or 4 days, haha.

 

[tameem]

Bad new!! This morning, I found him belly up! I was so upset. I dont know what happened. My tank is well established, 0 nitrites and 0 ammonia.
Im gonna call the lfs and ask for a refund. I just hope they do it because I dont have the receipt. Just the other day I saw the cute thing cleaning the glass.
Maybe it was the temperature? We have had hot days here and my temp reading has been near or at 80 degrees farenheit. Or maybe he was just sick?

 

[RedeyesUK]

Aww, bad news.

If, as you say, your water quality is fine, and assuming all your other fish are OK, then he may have just been a weak specimen, and the stress of the new tank was too much. It does happen sometimes!
I couldn't say for sure that the water temp is an issue, but my tank has been running similar temps recently, and doesn't seem to have bothered him.
Is there any chance your other fish may have been bullying him at all?

I'd definately try for a refund, good luck.

 

[tameem]

I thoguth this was a hardy fish. My other fish I have are cory catfish and buenos aries tetras. I doubt any of them were bullying him. I think it may have been due to the stress of a new tank. I called the lfs and they wont issue a refund, they have a 2 day return policy. Anyways, this sucks because I bought driftwood yesterday just for him since I know they prrefer to have that. But now I wont really need the driftwood.