Alternative Names

You can also search for this fish by many different names, such as Bushynose Catfish, Common Bristlenose Catfish, the , and Bristlenose Catfish.

We are here with you today to make you have a quick look at this amazing fish and know more about it.

Diet and Feeding

First, you have to know that this fish spends almost all its time in the bottom of the stream, so it survives mostly on plant-based materials.

Sometimes, you will find it eats algae or tiny insect larvae, so all these foods will suit this amazing fish.

In case you don’t have a lot of natural algae in your tank, then you can give this fish some algae wafers.

It is also important to feed this fish protein-based food, such as bloodworms including herbivores.

You can also give this fish some natural foods, such as vegetables like peas, cucumbers, zucchini, and carrots.

If you decided to give the fish these natural foods, then you have to feed it slowly beside the other recommended foods.

Once you put some vegetables for your fishes, you must remove the remaining tiny pieces of this food after a few hours in order to prevent your tank from becoming a mess.

It is important to make sure that you feed this fish once or twice a day, and if you find it starts to eat the plants, it means that you don’t feed it enough.

You can also know if your fish eats well or not by its color, if it has a good coloration, it means that you gave it all the nutritional needs.

Breeding

This fish is one of the easiest fishes to breed at home because you will find that its breeding cycle goes so easy and quickly.

You won’t need anything to do to breed this fish, you will find that the male and female fishes go to their hiding place, and they will generally breed there.

That is why you must make sure that this place is clean and has plenty of space for them to do their thing.

You will notice that this fish thinks that the rainy season is their perfect time to start breeding, so you need to make their place the way they want to encourage them.

Lifespan and Health

You will be so lucky if you have this amazing fish in your tank because it can live for more than 5 years, which is perfect for almost all the fish keepers.

Although some fish species are susceptible to unique diseases, you will be surprised when you know that this case is not right with the Bristlenose.

This fish isn’t known to suffer from major health issues, so it is rare to see this fish suffers from any common fish diseases, which is something really great for fish keepers.

You will always find that it is easy to care for this peaceful fish, which can live with you for a very long time without making any problems for you.

Therefore, we can say that providing good care for this fish will be relatively easy for you even if you are a beginner in the fish world.

This fish needs a special water temperature, which must be between 60 and 80 degrees F, and the pH should be in the 6.5 – 7.5 range, and the water hardness has to be 6 to 10 KH.

It is popular that the adult bristlenose pleco fish can handle fluctuations in water quality very well, so it will be good for you to have this adult fish if you don’t have experience in fishes.

If you have young fishes, then you have to know that they will likely face some health problems when the pH balance gets off.

The tank size depends on the number of fishes in your place, so we can say that the minimum tank size, which will be good for you almost all the time, is 25 gallons.

You can change the tank and bring one bigger if you will get more fishes.

You have to make sure that the bottom of the tank is big enough for fishes because they spend most of their time there.

It is important to pay attention to the tank for this fish because it is usually living in streams and rivers in South America, so it will always need freshwater with a well-aerated current.

Therefore, it is better to make sure that the tank water is well oxygenated, and it has a moderate water flow.

You should also know that this is a nocturnal fish, so it will always need a dark place to hide and rest during the day, you have to make this places very comfortable in the tank.

You can make these dark places perfect for this fish by adding some plants, driftwood, and build caves.

You have to pay attention to the under-gravel water system because it can help you to ensure that the tank remains highly oxygenated, it will also maintain water conditions.

It is also remarkable to have a filter in your tank, and it is preferable to be a canister filter.

This fish can live under any condition; all it needs is a clean place with enough water, so you will find that the aquarium doesn’t need much care.

All you need to do is to make it clean, and you will find that it needs relatively low maintenance.

You will also find that this fish will help you reduce the amount of algae in your tank, so it will be a perfect fish for you.

It will be good for this fish to add some driftwood and plants into its tank because they are excellent for algae growth

They will also be perfect for the fish in its hidden places, where it can go when it is morning time.

The best live plants for this fish will be hornwort and java moss, so if you want to choose some perfect plants for this fish, you can choose the past live plants.

Important note: if you notice that this fish tries to reach the surface, it means that it can’t find enough oxygen in the bottom or there are too much ammonia and nitrates in the water.

The post Bristlenose pleco(Ancistrus): care ,breeding & more appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.

You will notice that this amazing fish can be relatively easy to breed and do well in small tanks, so it won’t be expensive for you.

Lifespan and Care

Let’s take a look at the care requirements for this fish, the best food for it, the common diseases, and more.

It is predictable to find this fish lives with you for 10 or 12 years, and this will only happen if you take care of it correctly.

Its long-life term will give you a great opportunity to develop a bond between the two of you.

You will find that the clown pleco just like any other fish, needs special living conditions in order to live with you for a very long time.

Diet and Feeding

The most important things you need to do for this fish are providing a healthy diet, clean water, a suitable tank.

You have to know that a regular state of stress will quickly shave years off its life.

You will find that this fish will reach the full-grown stage when their size becomes 3.5-inch,

In addition, the average range in length species-wide usually be 3 to 4.3-inches.

If you are looking for the ideal diet for this fish, you won’t find anything better than algae because it helps the fish to be more healthy.

You can also try to offer some of the various sinking plant-based food besides the algae.

It will be perfect for this fish to eat some algae wafers too, which are a great option for it, as well as vegetables, such as lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, and peas.

It is okay to add some meat to their diet in order to give them enough protein.

The most amazing choices for you will be bloodworm and daphnia, which you can deal with it like occasional snack

Give them to your fish 2-3 times per week, be careful not to add them daily to your fish.

The most important thing you must know about feeding these fish is that you shouldn’t overfeed them.

You need to give them a balanced diet as much as you can.

We can’t say that clown pleco breeding is super easy or too hard, you have to try by yourself and then decide what it is for you.

We will help you know if their breeding is easy or hard by showing you the important requirements and the steps you need to do.

1. First, you have to set up a large tank for breeding, which must be separated from the main tank.
2. You will make the new tank similar to the main tank, so you need to have lots of driftwood, and provide some places to make your fish hide when they spawn.
3. It will be perfect for you and your fish to add a simple wooden cave to the tank because they will make use of these.
4. Now, you will need to lower the water temperature a little bit in the tank leading up to the breeding process.
5. On the other hand, you should raise the pH levels in the water just during this period as well.
6. You must increase the amount of protein-rich food in your fish’s diet because it will help stimulate breeding, you can add some bloodworms.

Now, your fish will find that their tank is suitable for them, so you will find that the males started to guard the area quite seriously for a few weeks, and they will wait until they have hatched.

Once this happens, you can now separate them and begin feeding the newborn fishes with a mixture of proteins. algae, and driftwood.

If you are looking for a healthy fish, which doesn’t have a particular disease, then you need to get this amazing fish.

You will find that this fish can be effected only by some of the other common aquatic diseases like any other fishes.

These common aquatic diseases can be ich, a variety of different infections, or parasites.

Luckily, you will find that all the previous diseases are very preventable, all you need to do is to maintain the water quality because poor water quality will drastically increase the chances of your fish getting sick.

It will be super easy for every beginner to take care of this fish because it doesn’t need high and regular maintenance and straightforward.

Clown pleco is just like Pygmy cory and Panda cory, which don’t need hard care too.

Therefore, you will notice that aquarists of all experience levels can successfully keep these fish without facing any problems.

The most important thing for you as one of the beginners is to provide the right environment for this fish and stay consistent with monitoring the water.

The water temperature must be 73°F-82°F, the pH levels have to be 6.8 to 7.6, and the water hardness should be 10 dGH, this will be ideal for your fish.

Although this fish is a hardy fish, it will always need specific water conditions to live with you for a very long time.

You will find that giving this fish what it needs about water conditions is not hard at all, and it can suit even beginners.

Now you will be sure that you make your fish happy and healthy with you.

It is recommended to have tank sizes 20 gallons at a minimum because this fish is so small and doesn’t do a ton of swimming around.

Therefore, you will find that this fish is an affordable fish, which won’t need a massive and expensive tank to feel comfortable.

In case you want to have more than one fish in your tank, then you need to add 10 gallons for each new fish.

For example, if you want to have 3 fishes in your tank, then you will need to add 30 gallons to your 20-gallons tank, so you will need a 50-gallon tank.

The post Clown pleco: Size , Diseases, & more appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.