Bristlenose rack size

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

i recently purchased a large male brisltenose pleco from my LFS who had a massive rack of bristles. now 2.5 weeks later the rack has srank to half its size and may soon disappear. i feed them only zucchini and squash. so i am guessing that if i give them a higher protien diet, the rack should increase correct? thank you for your help. i am now started placing blood worms in the tank.
thank you,
david
www.holeyrockfotexas.com

[Birger]

Are there any females in the tank with this male?

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

i have 2 females and i have had this happen to another male who has bred several times with his females.
thank you,
david
www.holeyrockoftexas.com

[Birger]

In that case I think it was just the move from one tank to another, when he starts to feel better and gets more in the mood he will redevelop his bristles, or the females may need to develop further yet as well.

Were the male and females purchased together, are they the same species?

Depending on the species some like and need higher protein content more than others.Too much can also cause problems, I would not feed bloodworms more than once or twice a week(again the species plays a role in determining the number my Ancistrus ranuculus get bloodworms every 2nd or 3rd day).

A good quality pleco wafer would also be a good supplement as well, I myself use the NLS pleco wafers but others, like the Hikari Algea Wafers are good as well. If looking towards breeding I would always make sure there is a constant supply of food in the tank of one kind or another.

Birger

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

well i have a male, who has lost his rack, in a tank for about 6 months now and he has bred 3 times with 2 females. they were purchased at the same time as babies and grow up together. his rack has never been that great but when this other one last his great rack i am assuming i am going something wrong.
thank you,
david
www.holeyrockoftexas.com

[Birger]

Hmmm, I would try the diet additions for sure.
What are the water parameters (how different are they from where it was purchased from)and which particular species are we talking about?

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

they were purchased at an auction as bristlenose plecos a while back. there were 6 of them and there was no further infomation. the male is a dark chocolate color with brighter yellow spots on the first half of his body. i really have no clue but i do know he has some small little stubs on the bridge of his nose. i know my temp is at 80 and the water is clean, i can also assune that the water is hard and around a pH of 8 becuase i live in TX lol. i am in grad school of chemistry you would think i would have access to the equpiment to figure this stuff out.
thank you,
david
www.holeyrockoftexas.com

[cwm]

Your Temp is to high.
Drop it down to 74-78 & change water offend.
I feed mine Zukes & Collard Greens. The tank will be messey, but they like it that way
Charlie

[Birger]

Maybe the harder water is affecting the development of the bristles, I am not sure, hopefully someone will jump in on that one.
I keep my

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

which is most common at 74 F

[Barbie]

80 degrees is not too warm, IME. My Albino LF colony is kept at 80 or even 81 and they routinely have spawns over 200. I've never seen a set of bristles that are more elaborate on a male than this one
.


It's not the temperature, IMO. While you can keep them cooler, it doesn't hurt them to keep them warmer and push for maximum spawns. I do feed a much higher protein diet than most people do, to compensate, with adequate fiber mixed in with veggies and wafers. I try to feed them enough that they can pick and choose which foods they want. A trio of adults keep a 55 gallon tank full of fry, most of the time. I change as much as 80% of the water weekly, depending on my schedule.

I've noticed less growth of bristles as a sign of dominance, or lack there of. If the male is in a tank where he's threatened by other males, or even cichlids, and doesn't feel he can defend fry, the bristles just disappear. My 10 year old male albino bristlenose almost totally lost his bristles when I added clown loaches to his tank. Now that I've taken the loaches out, the bristles are growing back nicely.

While I definitely think they look nicer with them, they aren't necessary, or even a real indication of fertility, IME.

Barbie

[andywoolloo]

I am so glad you mentioned the temp you keep yours at Barbie cause mine are at 80 and seem to love it.

And that pic of your male is the greatest pic ever in life!!

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

the trio(1m / 2f) is in a 20 gallon where they are the only fish in there. they are in a 20 gallon tank with a pengiun 100 and pengiun 150. i also clean the tank at least once a week but only a 35% change. some weeks i clean the tanks twice just depending on how much homework i have from school. i want to thank everyone for the responses.
thank you,
david
www.holeyrockfotexas.com

[nvcichlids]

I bought a female for my male, and he harassed her to the point where she wouldn't eat, and she ended up dying. It was extremely sad, cause he got her to develop eggs, but she starved before I even realized what was happening...

Would love to get him some more females, but there aren't any around big enough. My male is 3"+ and all the "females" I see are less than 2".

[MatsP]

Surely you have some other tank that you can put the female in to grow her out?

--
Mats

[Holey_Rock_of_Texas]

so any more ideas aout the rank?
thank you,
david
www.holeyrockoftexas.com