Feeding L107/L184 Brilliant Bristlenose

[cjf81]

I'm a new keeper of some wild caught L107/L184 Brilliant Bristlenose. I've read that some Ancistrus require more meaty foods but am not certain if this is the case for these guys and can't find any specific information. They don't seem to have much to do with the algae wafers or anything to do with zucchini or cucumbers but do eat flake food made for angelfish readily. They are producing lots of waste so apparently they are eating, I just want to make sure they're getting what they need. Does anyone know if these guys have different nutritional needs compared to the other ancistrus species? Thanks.

[TwoTankAmin]

Did you read here? http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/spe ... ies_id=751

[cjf81]

Thanks for your help. Yes, I had read that, but the feeding portion of this entry is the stock answer regarding Ancistrus generally. Some species of Ancistrus require more meaty diets (which ones?). Additionally, mine aren't showing much interest in what the stock answer suggests and thus I'm questioning if anyone has more specific info regarding the Brilliant Bristlenose. I had read on a German website, I can't find the link now, that the dietary needs of the Brilliant were a bit different but it didn't go into any detail.

[TwoTankAmin]

All Ancistrus are what are called Aufwuchs feeders. Here is the definition of Aufwuchs from wikipedia:

Aufwuchs (German "surface growth" or "overgrowth") is the collection of small animals and plants that adhere to open surfaces in aquatic environments, such as parts of rooted plants. In both marine and freshwater environments, algae – particularly green algae and diatoms – make up the dominant component of aufwuchs communities. Small crustaceans, rotifers, and protozoans are also commonly found in fresh water and the sea, but insect larvae, oligochaetes and tardigrades are peculiar to freshwater aufwuchs faunas.

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufwuchs

What this means is in rasping the rocks, wood and plants covered in this stuff the fish is getting a lot of algae, maybe some plant matter and a bunch of meat in the form of the critters living in that algae mat.

Ancistrus do need a small amount of "meaty" food and what they get in the wild from Aufwuchs is usually enough. However, in tanks they are similar to most fish in that they tend to eat anything they can whether or not it may be good for them. Most of the appropriate commercial foods for Ancistrus will have a meaty component included. Feeding something like blood worms is best done occasionally, especially for spawning purposes. More often will not be good for them.

I am not aware of an Ancistrus species that has a need for more meat in their diet, but I am far from an expert on the diet of all 155 species in the PC database. Hopefully, one of the better educated members who is an expert will confirm the above or correct me if I got it wrong.

As for fish being unwilling to eat a food which is appropriate for it, they will eventually eat it if given no choice. Sometimes they simply don't know what it is yet. In my case, I have never had a fish that was not a pig when it came to any food, and anything that they thought might be food for that matter.

[cjf81]

Thanks. I appreciate your help. I'll assume they just aren't sure what a sliced zucchini is yet. Like I said, they are producing waste so they must be eating something - probably the stuff on the driftwood.

[bekateen]

Hi cjf81,
You nailed it on the head with the poop: If they're pooping, then they're eating. In my experience, plecos can take up to two weeks with repeat exposure during that time to decide a new item is food. Keep pushing fresh samples of food until they discover it.
Cheers, Eric

[cjf81]

Thanks Eric. That's helpful. I'll keep on trying with the zucchini.

[cjf81]

OK - I found this on another thread in this forum:

"

Thanks a lot for your posts.
I hope I will succeed with the other diet.

Larry: I have exactly the same experiences as young with L260 and L134 in the same tank. The L260 stopped growing completely while the L134 showed a fantastic growth of approx. 4 cm in 3½ month.

I got a batch of 17 new fry and 12 more eggs will soon hatch. The first 17 have soon used their yolk sac and are soon ready for a real diet. I will try to feed them with a vegetarian diet. All these fry are moved to another aquarium to see if it makes a difference.

I have heard a lot of people who breed the L107 about their experiences. All of them use a diet with quiet a high amount of protein. Lars Jamne from Norway told me he used meat-based pleco bits and discus bits as the primary food and vegetarian bits only 1 time each week.

"

Does this change anyone's opinion regarding the dietary needs of the Brilliant Bristlenoses?

[cjf81]

OK. I got this from Lars Jamne today:

"These wants a higher temperature and a more meaty diet than the common Ancistrus. I keep mine i pH 6, 28-29 Celsius and feed them Repashy Superfoods (60-70% meat variants and green the rest)..."

He included this link with info as well...

http://loricariidae.no/loricariidae.no/ ... _L107.html

[Barbie]

I keep them at 84 degrees, and I feed a variety of Repashy foods. My L184 tend to gravitate more to the Hypancistrus formula that I created, rather than the Ancistrus one, but will eat both, as well Spawn & Grow, given the opportunity. I tend to feed a variety for a few weeks, then focus more on whatever they seemed to prefer.

Barbie