|  |  | | 
May 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| What's with the bristles?
What are the bristles on the bristle noses nose for? | 
| | |
May 10th, 2009
|
| | Fish Helper
| i wouldnt know but i know that they determine the bristlenoses gender
the ones with bristles are male
and the ones without them are female
fry will all look female until they get older and then bristles will start to form | |
| | |
May 10th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| they are a very delicate fish so make sure the water quality is good and great | |
| | |
May 10th, 2009
|
| | Moderator
| I don't have any scientific information as to why they have bristles. Seems like they would have to act as some type of sensors...they could alert them to food near by...maybe they feel vibrations...alerting them to danger...will be looking forward to more info on this myself. I'd love to have one  | |
| | |
May 10th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| maybe its just purely to distinguish between male and females
isnt it funny that badwolf didnt know what they were and he called them britles when they are actually bristles. irony | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| what, when did i call them britles? so no known reason, huh, just wondering. i reckon it's just display, like a lion with its mane to impress the females or the peacock with his colors and feathers to impress the peahen.
anyone tried to breed the BN with multiple males, then find the male with the biggest bristles gets the female and spawns first? | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| ive always viewed the bristles as a defense mechanism. would you wanna take a bite out of one? lol
if you have any interest in them i say go for it! i dont think i would have another tank without one (as long as its suitable  ) | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Mentor
| Me too! I keep BN Pleco's in all my tanks except for the betta and Oscar tanks. I even keep them with newborn fry, they're the best algae eaters I know of! | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| thanx | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| whats the difference between calling them plecos and catfish | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Moderator
| Different species... | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| ok. than you | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| different species, i'm sure they are the same thing. in AUS, where i live, they are called BN catfish but i still call them plecos. | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| i live in australia to. i call them catfish usaually because most LFS' call them catfishes | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by cichlidsmad  i wouldnt know but i know that they determine the bristlenoses gender
the ones with bristles are male
and the ones without them are female
fry will all look female until they get older and then bristles will start to form | there are some fems with bristles....just not as long and not as many | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Bad Wolf What are the bristles on the bristle noses nose for? | The only theory I've seen for the existence of bristles is to mimic fry. Quote: Why the bushy nose?
Sabaj et al. (1999) offered a very interesting, and plausible, reason why male Ancistrus develop their bushy noses. Sabaj and his fellow researchers observed that male Ancistrus often guard several broods of fry simultaneously. They also observed that female Ancistrus prefer to spawn with males that are already guarding a brood, possibly because these males have demonstrated that they are successful parents. Sabaj et al. thus theorized that males develop their tentacles to mimic the movements and appearance of larvae and thus "trick" females into believing that the male in question is already a successful parent and therefore a good choice as a mate.
| Quote:
Originally Posted by 11yancazosj whats the difference between calling them plecos and catfish | Plecos are a type of catfish. All plecos are catfish, but not all catfish are plecos.
If you want to get specific, the term "pleco" refers to a member of the Loricariidae family, which is a subset of the order Siluriformes. | |
| | |
May 11th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| | |
| | |
May 14th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| They're to pick up broadcast signals; fish don't have cable TV... | |
| | |
May 14th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| lol. wat broadcast signals do they pick up | |
| | |
May 14th, 2009
|
| | Fish Master
| lol I hope they have the digital converter boxes...
My male bristlenose had developed some longer bristles in the past month or so, hes looking pretty cool. | |
| | |
May 14th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| wait until they are fully grown. they are massive | |
| | |
May 14th, 2009
|
| | Moderator
| The fry theory is good. It may also be a bit of camouflage. The bristles will make the pleco look like a cluster of dead plant matter. | |
| | |
May 15th, 2009
|
| | Fish Lore Newbie
| i read that a bristlenose will only spawn on one surface or ornament and once it has chosen it, it will only spawn with a chosen female and no others.(sorry if that was a bit confusing)
cheers. | |
| | |
May 15th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| Any fish will choose the most suitable availablle spawning site. However, female BN's tend to be rather pushy when they're ready to spawn. More than 1 will actually mate with the same male, though not at the same time. It will usually be a coule days before he will accept a second female. I have 2m/2f in a 30 long, and the females tag team the larger male. As soon as one batch of fry moves out there's a fresh clutch of eggs for him to fan. | |
| | |
May 15th, 2009
|
| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by namehater ive always viewed the bristles as a defense mechanism. would you wanna take a bite out of one? lol | The bristles really aren't stiff.
The 1st pic is a full grown BN. Notice the bristles.
The2nd pic is the same BN but you can see the Operculum bristles(cheek bristles) better. The cheek operculum are stiff and can cut, and do not collapes out of water.
The 3rd pic is the male(same male) and female out of water. The male is on the right as you look at the pic. The bristles are collapsed and he is really mad. Notice how extended the operculum bristles are.
The last pic is a closer look at the male out of water.
Before anyone asks they were only out of water for a couple of minutes
carol
Ps
Todd- I had two females spawn in the same cave with the same male one day apart Wow it was a cave full of eggs
Carol | |
| | |
May 15th, 2009
|
| | Fish Master
| If I knew that 2 females would spawn with one male I would have put both my females in the same tank... I guess shes getting moved tomm to the tank with the couple. Thanks for sharing Carol! | |
| | |
May 15th, 2009
|
| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by steveangela1 If I knew that 2 females would spawn with one male I would have put both my females in the same tank... I guess shes getting moved tomm to the tank with the couple. Thanks for sharing Carol! | Angela it was so cool I know it was different females because one was long fin and one was standard(short) fin. Saw both lay eggs. The clusters looked like large orange raspberrys Daddy took care of them all. I don't how often this happens. Most females lay eggs and never look back
Carol | |
| | |
May 16th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| BN catfish swapn in the hundreds. might i ask how many of them made it through | |
| | |
May 16th, 2009
|
| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by 11yancazosj BN catfish swapn in the hundreds. might i ask how many of them made it through | Do you mean how many survived the double spawning? Right at two hundred
As some would get to 3/4 inch they were separated out and went to the fish house until I would have them down to the number I wanted to keep.
Carol | |
| | |
May 16th, 2009
|
| | Fish Addict
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Butterfly Do you mean how many survived the double spawning? Right at two hundred
As some would get to 3/4 inch they were separated out and went to the fish house until I would have them down to the number I wanted to keep.
Carol | i mean that out of how many eggs were layed, how many survived? | |
| | | | |
Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads 
