Tom

What is the difference between the BN pleco and the BN catfish?
Tom

Butterfly

nothing different just different common names. Thats the problem with using common names. They are scientifically Ancistrus.
Carol

Tom

The fish book I have has two different fish with different scientific names as well. In the little blurb about one it says 'there are several species of BN, all fairly similar. The behavior in an aquarium is identical'. That is why I asked. Mine looks like Ancistrus temminckii.
Tom

Butterfly

What is the scientific name for the other one? I have 3 different kinds of bristlenose. 1) Ancistrus sp3, Ancistrus common, and an unknown Ancistrus (we don't know what kind it is).
carol

Tom

The other is Ancistrus spp. But I belive mine is the ancistrus temminckii based on the picture because mine has a bit of blue on it's tail fin and the picture of it in the book has a light colored tip on the tail fin as well.
Tom

Toddnbecka

If the fish in question is aquarium-bred, chances are it's a hybrid. There are several different species of BN's, but unless the fish was wild-caught, its ancestry is questionable. Check out planetcatfish.com for specific details for a positive ID.

Tom

I did and I couldn't figure out which was mine. It doesn't really matter now that I think about it. A BN of any species will do the same job of eating algae.
Tom