Are My Plecos Ok?

Just curious, I bought these plecos over a year ago. Just wondering if they are ok, they seem to have no bristles compared with other plecos. The black one was about 2.5 inches long, the lemon was 1.75.

Thanks, I know it's kind of odd.

 

Not much help here. The black one looks fine the white one look thin may need more or different food. What are you feeding. One of my bn plecos looks like yours and the other has the long bristles. May be different types or male/female.

 

The females have shorter bristles.

 

I'm feeding tetra granules (3/4 of a mm), NLS pellets (round 1.5 mm) and shrimp pellets. I use the tetra and shrimp pellets the most. The NLS seem too hard for my other fish. They eat them, and then look bloated because they expand...

 

Try some algae wafers. Some people put vegetables in for them.

 

Hello, I believe they are both females. Females either have a few tiny or no bristles. Hope this helps!

 

The brown one looks like a male to me; females don’t get bristles on top of the snout and he’s still young enough to have smallish bristles like the ones yours has.

 

The brown one looks like a male to me; females don’t get bristles on top of the snout and he’s still young enough to have smallish bristles like the ones yours has.

Which one do you mean? The one on the sponge or the one on the log?

I had algae wafers and I traded for the shrimp pellets because they seemed better.

 

Shrimp pellets, blanched veggies, and algae wafers give pleco’s a good diet. They are both females and look of good health. It looks like you have some but they do need driftwood

Hope this helps!

 

Shrimp pellets, blanched veggies, and algae wafers give pleco’s a good diet. They are both females and look of good health. It looks like you have some but they do need driftwood

Hope this helps!

The brown one is on top of a piece of driftwood and looks like a male. The albino looks like a female.

They are more herbivores so they need algae wafers and veggies. I have 3 BN's that are just about a year old and they are at least 4" and the 2 males have ~5mm bristles. I feed them mostly zucchinI and they grab whatever is left over for the other fish, HikarI Micro Wafers, TetraColor granules and API Bottom Feeder pellets (shrimp pellets).

 

The brown one is on top of a piece of driftwood and looks like a male. The albino looks like a female.

They are more herbivores so they need algae wafers and veggies. I have 3 BN's that are just about a year old and they are at least 4" and the 2 males have ~5mm bristles. I feed them mostly zucchinI and they grab whatever is left over for the other fish, HikarI Micro Wafers, TetraColor granules and API Bottom Feeder pellets (shrimp pellets).

Yes I figured it was on driftwood but you never know and they are both female bc he said he bought them over a year ago so they are most likely 2+ years old by then a male should have at least a half inch bristles if not it’s female so these girls are well...both girls

 

As mentioned by IceFyre1414 , the brown one has bristles going up his snout so definitely a male. Females only get bristles around the snout, if at all.

The poor diet is probably contributing to the small size, pale color and the stubble on the male after a year.

 

Hello again, I got a male albino when I bought a used 10 gal on craigslist. He had lived in that tank for a yr w/2 goldfish & tank was filthy w/waste. At first I thought he was a female do to short bristles & sm. size (stunted 1 3/4 in.). I put him in a clean 29 gal. w/ a proper diet. in a few mo. he' doubled in size & has 1/4 in. bristles. Hope this helps!

 

Which one do you mean? The one on the sponge or the one on the log?

I had algae wafers and I traded for the shrimp pellets because they seemed better.

I meant the one on the log. It’s alright if you feed them shrimp pellets sometimes, but they should still get fresh veggies and algae wafers often.

 

Ok. I heard here somewhere that they could live just fine on just driftwood. So I thought the pellets were a substitute to their normal food.
Apparently not. I will grab some wafers tonight.

How much do you feed for their size? The black/brown one is 3 inches, albino is 2 1/4.

 

Drfitwood is not food. It helps their digestion I believe, but it isn't necessarily "food".

I think you should get them some real veggies. Mine love zucchinI the best.

And I know this has been said a couple times, but the brown one is male. It doesn't matter that the bristles are short. Females do not get them up on the face/snout like that.

The albino I would say is female.

 

Ok. I heard here somewhere that they could live just fine on just driftwood. So I thought the pellets were a substitute to their normal food.
Apparently not. I will grab some wafers tonight.

How much do you feed for their size? The black/brown one is 3 inches, albino is 2 1/4.

You were misinformed. They don't live on driftwood at all like Clowns.

 

Hello again, I got a male albino when I bought a used 10 gal on craigslist. He had lived in that tank for a yr w/2 goldfish & tank was filthy w/waste. At first I thought he was a female do to short bristles & sm. size (stunted 1 3/4 in.). I put him in a clean 29 gal. w/ a proper diet. in a few mo. he' doubled in size & has 1/4 in. bristles. Hope this helps!

I had a similar experience. I had two young albino males in a pleco growout tank. I had to separate them because of fighting (they should have been separated or rehomed before that, they grow up quite quickly) and one went in my 120g. The one in the 120 gallon grew twice as big (bristles too) in a month's time. He is the only pleco in that tank.

 

Can you sex mine?

 

Hello again again, from this angle it looks like a she. Don't so any bristles at all. Hope this helps!

 

Can you sex mine?
View attachment 475638

Not a bristlenose, too small to sex as it is a chocolate or albino common pleco.

Just curious, I bought these plecos over a year ago. Just wondering if they are ok, they seem to have no bristles compared with other plecos. The black one was about 2.5 inches long, the lemon was 1.75.

Thanks, I know it's kind of odd. View attachment 475472View attachment 475473

Good veggies to feed are zucchini, pumpkin (since they are getting ready to come in stores), squash (yellow), bell peppers. Shrimp pellets are a good thing to add to their diet for a little more protein, helps them grow.