A few new bristlenose pics

This is my big male that fathers all of the fry that I've raised. It took him a while to figure out how to do it right, but he's great at it now.

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That is one beautiful uglyfish!

Ive heard that they are pretty easy to breed. I was thinking about getting some to try out. That is an awesome looking little monster.

He is pretty ugle but beautiful in some way lol so is he the dad to the babies you gave me ? BTW they are thriving on zuccinni and wood lol

Yes he is the dad. I think he's rather handsome. I'm glad they are doing well!

One of these two is mom.
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You can see both of the females and some cute babies in this video. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

i think two of the babies look like the top one and the bigger of the three look like the bottom mom lol when do they start showing their sexes?

I haven't kept very good track of when they show sexes and I've usually given them away before they get that big. There is usually a mix of ages growing out as well. I'd say probably around 3 inches you would have a good idea. Also, I keep mine in a growout tank with lots of water changes and they grow much faster than the ones I keep in tanks with other types of fish.

One thing I noticed when I was growing a couple of males up to breeding size in a 20 gallon, the one in the picture above had nice bristles and the other had smaller. When I moved the one with the smaller bristles into a tank of his own, those bristles grew larger. I don't know if it was a coincidence that it happened after I moved him, or if getting away from a more dominant male led to the growth.

I might set up the other 30 g then if i can find a place to put it

It will be a long while before you need to worry about separating males and if your tank isn't too small, they'll probably be fine anyway.

I too am a proud owner of Betty's bristle nosed plecos. They came out last night and started going to town on the glass and every surface. They look so tiny in the 120g. Once they are big enough (not to be eaten) one or all may be going into the 210g.

Very cute little plecos!


Thanks again Betty!

I hope i have one male and two females they for some reason like to suck on my mystery snails lol

You're welcome. I bet they are really happy in a big tank with algae!

Ashley, I have no idea what the attraction is unless the snails have algae growing on them. They were living with a Nerite snail, but didn't show any interest.

lol idk what it is maybe it is algea lol on my big mystery snails because sometimes a mystery snail will get on top of the other like their breeding (but their is never eggs) and maybe its eating algea?

When I kept baby bristlenoses they would suck on the shells of my very large MTS when there was some algae growth or diatoms.

A couple of new shots. I love those bristles.

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Wow! You must not be keeping these in a tank with mbuna!

That is impressive. Awesome shots.

I saw the picture and it reminded me that I need to shave before work.

My three from Betty are doing great in the 29g growout and one is starting to show some stubble on its face, so Im pretty sure I will have at least one male. Hope it turns out as nice as the one in the pic.

Very nice! Thanks for the picture updates.

JEEEEEZ.... look at those bristles... I LOVE IT! Mine didnt get big enough, I had to move...

You have the best looking fish betty.... I would love to see a video of your tanks like fish n vw's

I have an albino long fin bristlenose that I believe came from one of Betty's tanks a long time ago. It is doing awesome and does not outgrow the tank like a typical marble pleco.

great looking bristles! what a neat fish

Thanks everyone.

Larry, you're right. No mbuna in that tank!

Paintguy, I don't have any long fins, so yours came from someone else. Kianna maybe?

Sandnuka, I might have to try a video one of these days.