Celeste84 Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 alrighty i had to get new cleaners for my tank as my "snail proof" plants that look kinda like varegated grass (but with really hard and straight leaves) was prooving too snail proof. the edges of the leaves cut the snails if they try to climb them, so they leave them alone now. which means the algae is growing on them. my LFS guy (danny) convinced me that since i have driftwood and a lot of little pots in my tank a breeding pair of BN was the way to go. they seem to have settled in nicely with the 12 betta girls, 4 loaches and 400+ snails. so now i was wondering what i need to know about looking after them once they're happily part of the community? i was going to just leave them to clean up the algae on the plants and the debris in the gravel around the plant bases for a few days, but do they need more food than that? and would the spirulina discs i feed the snails/loaches be alright for them?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyDragonz Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 the bristlenose i have loves the algea pelets that we use if the tank apears to b low on algea. it aslo seems to love eating up any of the fish food that hits the bottom ^^ but thats as far as my knowledge goes :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ren Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 ive had my two bristlenoses for over a month now and ive never directly fed them they eat the driftwood - you'll soon see a lot of wood poo appearing on the floor or in your filter - wood is a big part of their diet if its available.. other than that im pretty sure they just eat the leftovers ... mine really dont eat any algae though wish they did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splendidbetta Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 wood? there can't be many nutrients in wood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 the britlenose will eat prettymuch anything that is offered to them and i have found not to be fussy eaters if left a little hungry they will be more inclined to eat the algae as for the wood it is recommended to have some in there for them as it helps with there digestian ? you can also feed them peas pumpkin zuchini and cucumber but be just curious what type of snails do you have and what type of loach the plant is most likely a form of rush and normally short lived in the aquarium as they are bog water plants and not ment to be submersed but im guessing thats what it may be Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 my snails are yellow apple snails (aka golden mystery snails). i was told they're hard to breed, but i can't stop the little buggers (and not so little buggers) from laying eggs everywhere! the loaches are 2 golden and 2 brown (aka chinese algae eaters), and they're getting quite big, but they're very placid (must be all the space they have!). i have driftwood with plants on it in my tank, and danny's keeping an eye out for me for a small hollow log (real wood one) for the BN's, so the wood part is well taken care of (one reason he suggested them was because he knew i had the wood in there). this is a really bad photo, but you can see the grass type plants (and the start of the algae on them) in the BG, plus one of my smaller adult snails: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 ok the plant is a rush and as i said they are generally a bog water plant but will last a long period under water but pretty sure it will eventually rot or maybe its just me reason for asking about your loach and snails is i presumed clown loach for removing snails and wondered why you had so many Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted October 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 LOL no i get the algae eaters when they're small because they clean the tank walls so well, and they get along with bettas (ie they're to fast for the bettas to catch and harm, and they themselves aren't equipped with anything to harm the bettas with!). i should add that they DO grow up to a foot long. i'm gonna sell them when they get too big and then get some more smaller ones. i must say i'm impressed, day 2 and the plants are 90% clean!!! go you beauties, go! LOL so the rush should only be partially submerged?? dang, means i'll need new plants eventually i'll have to find something else to put in there when that happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 The BNs I know don't grow up to a foot long - more like 15cm. Are you sure you haven't got some other kind of pleco? (If this is the info LFS gave you.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 i think Celeste84 is reffering to the size of the chinese algae eaters (suckermouth catfish?) Celeste84 if your looking for some good algae eaters that dont grow large take a look at otocinclus they will not harm your other fish and look good in the tank they can be a little expensive though http://www.otocinclus.com/ Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckster Posted October 1, 2006 Report Share Posted October 1, 2006 Hi Cel, I have a "usual" BN and an albino. Both like their algae tablets, algae wafers and the smaller Hikari wafers. They love Zuchini but don't seem too fond of cucumber. Rasping at driftwood is a favourite attraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 My otocinclus never seemed to make the slightest dent in algae (I had 5 in a 4' tank) but I assume they snacked on whatever I was feeding the other fish. Hearing of a 90% success rate I might move my bristlenose to my 4' tank as I get that hair algae in there. Celeste, what sort of algae did yours eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leema Posted October 2, 2006 Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 i think Celeste84 is reffering to the size of the chinese algae eaters (suckermouth catfish?) Indeedy. Sorry, I misread it, Celeste! Thanks for spotty, Ray. :sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted October 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2006 the algae eaters are loaches, not catfish but they still do the whole sucking thing! and i love them, they look really good so it's no biggie to sell them off when they get too big lilli, not sure what kinda algae it was, but it wasn't hair algae, it was thicker, more like a thick "dust" coating with the larger clumps coming off the leaves in thick strands. thanks luck, i'll just keep using the spirulina tablets then ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Driftwood isn't so much for nutrients as I believe some sort of digestive aid/enzyme. Not so vital for BNs but pretty important for other plecostomus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 CAE's are great for cleaning algae when they are small, but when they get bigger they tend to go for the zucchini and alage wafers instead (and the odd small fish!). Plus they get agressive toward others of their kind and tank mates. They have been known to latch on to slower fish and suck the slime coat off (along with an eyeball or two) and flick rocks/substrate at passers by with their tails (always great to watch ) I absolutely love these fish and miss my Dragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 *nods* i know they get aggressive towared each other as they get bigger but my substrate is about a foot below where my girls usually hang out LOL and there are a lot more bettas than loaches, so they behave rather well that said i am watching them carefully as they grow, and when i think they're at the point where they could threaten the other tank members, i'll sell them off again for people with larger tanks and larger fish cal, i was told that without wood the BN wouldn't spawn?? it didn't matter if the hollows were wood or not, just as long as there was some wood in the tank no idea why, be interesting to find out :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Reptile Caves made of plastic are great too spawn BN's in, so are clay pots and PVC pipes. Haven't tried it, but have read that it works a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celeste84 Posted October 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 yeah a breeder in tamworth swears by anything small and tubish, as long as there's wood in the tank LOL he says doesn't matter what they breed in, but they need the wood (maybe the tanins trigger the breeding cycle?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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