PlanetCatfish.com

+ancistrus triradiatus, just over three inches long, unknown sex

+ 79F, 0 ammonia + nitrites, <20 nitrates, weekly 25% water changes

+ 26g bow front tank , estes ultra pearl substrate (purple), eheim ecco canister and aquaclear power filter, 65w power compact flourescent light

+tankmates are cherry barbs, male guppies, a pair of rams, and one tetra

+tank is 5 months old, last new fish added was over six weeks ago

+pic of tank setup:



+My Bristlenose hides whenever the tank light is on in a black slate cave I built for it. He only comes out during the night when the tank light is off and the room lights are dim. I see the fish in the mornings for about 5 seconds, then it realizes the lights are on and goes back to the cave. I have had the fish for a few months and it never been any less shy. He does a pretty bad job of cleaning up algae too, but I am not too worried about that I feed the fish Hikari Algae wafers at least once a week, or when there is not much algae in the tank.

Anyway, is it bad to keep a fish like a Bristlenose in a tank with a very light substrate like mine? I was thinking of getting a darker more natural substrate.

If I take the cave out of the tank, would the fish get used to being in the open? Or would is stress itself sick?

Any other tips for my fish? The Rams and the Pleco are the fish I care the most about in this tank.

Grimlock,
Rams and A. triradiatus occur together in the wild. The substrates they are typically found over are fairly light in color, so this is not a problem. Your Ancistrus will always be a bit shy when the lights are on. This is just the nature of the genus.
-Shane

Today my fish came out when the tank light was on! It was out for about 15 seconds eating algae on the black slate. My wife said something because she has NEVER actually seen the fish before except the first day I got it. I am always the one that turns the tank lights on in the morning and sees it then. We both moved for a closer look, the Brislenose got spooked and went back into the cave

We then tricked the fish into coming out again. I put some sheets of white paper over my glass top so not much light was getting into the tank. Once I managed up to three sheets of white paper under the light, the fish came out again and started doing its thing. I put in an algae wafer and it was great to watch him eat it. Then the other fish started trying to get the wafer so I turned off the tank light.

I would like to setup a low light tank for the Brislenose and some other fish I want, but I need to buy a house first, doh!

updated my profile, i live in maine, united states.