First time owning a pleco

Hi! I'd like to start by paging aliray please!

Our top two must haves for a our new 40 gallon breeder are kuhlI loaches and at least one pleco. We'd been planning on getting two Bristlenose plecos and trying for babies...until I researched how many fry we'd be looking at. We'd still like to try that down the road, but can't really have enough large tanks to accommodate that right now.

In my stocking thread, it was suggested that I could have possibly up to 10 loaches and 2 plecos. Is this correct? I know Bristlenose are fairly easy to sex, are there any downsides to keep same sex pairs?

Or alternatively, are their any potential problems in having one Bristlenose and then adding another of the small pleco varieties?

On to actually getting at least our Bristlenose. The first fish in our tank will be the four platys we currently have. Can the pleco be added next or would it do better down the line? And can one be quarantined in a 10 gallon?

What should look for in the fish we choose? I noticed watching them at the fish store that anytime they are still, their fins are collapsed. In our platys this would be a sign of stress, but I'm wondering if plecos are different. Their fins certainly fan out beautifully anytime they move, even when they are climbing the sides.

Thanks!

 

Hey here I am . When it comes to Bristle nose plecos you can' really sex them until there bristles start to grow. The females can get little nubs along the gravel line on their top lip ,Where as the males will get them all over his snout and lips. That take place when they are about 3 inches from end of nose to end of tail. If you keep two BNs together and they are a male and female you will get lots of babies, Two females together in the tank will get along just fine. Two males in the same tank will fight each other unless the tank is big enough for each one to have a territory of his own. You can keep a BN and a clown pleco together with no problems bay they are more nocturnal by nature and tend to come out more at night . I have three in two tanks, a 20 gal and a 30 gallon. And before I forget they should have real driftwood in their tank to rasp on. Lucky is My male Albino BN pleco and is now 5 1/2 inches from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail and my all time favorite fish. Because of his color he is very easy to spot and he is out and about a lot during the day. He is a golden yellow color. In my 30 gallon I have Buttercup who is an L144 blue eyed lemon BN female that I bought from a member of a different fish forum. She is 3 1/2 inches from nose tip to the end of her tale and is a lemon yellow color, She is pretty well full grown or may possible get a 1/2 longer . My other female is Bella , I bought her from Ebay as a blue eyed yellow ancistrus or Bn pleco. She is my youngest and is about the same color as Lucky and is 4 1/2 inches long and will probably get another inch by the time she is done. On the post Plecos!! share yours, I wrote a post on feeding your bn plecos their fruits and veggies along with other foods , please give it a read. It is 1/2 way down page 3 and then was reprinted in a quote on page 16. Alison

 

Is the 3 inch rule pretty certain? As in, if we buy one that's 3 inches or over can we be fairly confident of the gender?

I did read your post on feeding them. Odd question, but are all metal forks safe? I don't know anything about what ours are made of.

 

If the forks are stainless steel it will say it on the back of the forks just grab a magnifying glass. By three inches they should be starting to grow bristles, however some can be late bloomers. I really wanted a male so I bought my Lucky are a 3 1/2 inch male from imperial tropical in Lakeland Fla. he arrived at least 4 inches from nose tip to tail end and a snout full of bristles. My two other were bought mailorder from two separate places and both ended up being females. It was more expensive doing that but I really had my heart set on at least one male. You can also use bamboo squewers and for the veggie and just wedge it in a against the bottom and the tank side, or get a veggie clip and put the veggie in it or put the veggie on the bamboo stick and use that to hold it in place. There are tons of options. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. The bamboo while I think of it are like a dollar at the dollar store and are found in all the grocery stores. Alison

 

Well, we're pretty sure that water will be going into our 40 gallon tomorrow so today we put a BN on hold at our LFS! The kids picked out one a little over 3 inches long and with the lack of bristles named her Ariel. They'll hold her for a week so we can be sure of our set up and then our cycling and her quarantine should line up. Will 10 gallons be a large enough QT for her?