Got my first BN today, and just realized, what do I feed after the algae in my tank is all eaten up? Will half a slice of cucumber or a little lettuce be enough for him? Hes about nearly 2 inches.

should be fine

also get some JBL Pleco chips.

they like that too

Mine go mad on Courgette also...

dont leave any veges in the tank for more than 24hours (same goes with sinking foods)

trying blending up some peas and cucumber etc and freezing it and then attach to the bottom of the tank

wood is an important part of their diet so iff you don't have any in your tank make sure to feed JBL pleco chips at least once a week as the JBL ones have wood fibers in them.

I feed pleco chips and courgette - I stick a couple of toothpicks into it and wedge them into the stones and substrate. Seems to work okay. Mine also eat the fighter pellets and flakes I feed as well.

Thanks for the tips, will head out and buy some tomorrow. My tank has a 2f long driftwood in it, and since s/he is the only one in there, I did assume he would have enough to eat.

Now the hard part is finding him. I've looked everywhere and he seems to have dissappeared. Hm.

Mine don't get any commercial food, just courgette, which I replace every day even if there's some left. They also love peas (squeeze the shell off). I have noticed that they do eat any frozen bloodworm or tropical flake that falls to the bottom. Even if your tank does have algae, it is a good idea to supplement their diet anyway.

And also if you give them too many fancy treats, they can become lazy and algae will become your problem instead of the bristles job :lol: :lol:

So how about I feed him (and future thems) a slice of cucumber every second day? Would that be acceptable? And flakes are my bane, everytime I feed flakes my other fish dont eat the ones that fall to the ground. At least I know my BN will eat it.

You can feed yours treats as often as you like I just found if I spoilt them too much they became a bit lazy :lol: :lol:

I'll try not to spoil s/he.

When does a BN usually develop its bristles? Mines about .. 4-5 cm ish, and have no bristles at all.

Also, where could I get some gravel in Chch? The only ones I've seen are quite expensive from Bunnings.

All the lfs have gravel in varying colours. I like the dark brown one myself and it is cheaper to buy in bulk but I would have thought a place like Bunnings would be way cheaper.

Your BN should be developing bristles at about that size and if it doesn't - congratulations, it's a girl!

something else they might enjoy is PRAWNS

Yes i go to the supermarket and buy 1 cooked or raw prawn, cut it into 5 and then hang a piece in the middle of the tank, this is for the guppies. Seems i neglected to tell my adult male BN as he gets onto it and swings it from side to side and fights the guppies for the territory. Really is quite a laugh to watch. On the other hand, my 4 young fry show no interest in the prawn whatsoever

Cool a girl! How big do they be before they start breeding? Perhaps I'll just feed her twice a day for a few weeks before buying a male.

As for the prawns idea, I never knew BNs were carnivors. I thought they just ate veggies. Heck I never knew guppies ate prawns as well.

I never knew BN ate the prawns either hence when he first ate it when it was on the floor, i moved it to mid tank.

Will try and get a video (using a digital stills camera) if you want

I have one BN that likes to hang off of freeze dried Tubifex (sp?) worm cubes as they float around the top of the tank.

mine eat anything that hits the bottom.

Recently found out they like corn - de husked frozen bits. :lol:

I put a piece of cucumber for her today in the tank. I stabbed a toothpick through it and onto the driftwood. Waiting for results now.

Also, I went to the petstore to get a price quote on some gravel. For a bag of I think 10kg they quoted me $60. Then I went to a gardening center and bought a bag of slightly bigger gravel for $10. 8)

Just to double check, how do I test if the gravel is suitable? Something to do with vinegar was it?

What do you mean by test if the gravel is suitable? I buy mine from the garden centre but you have to wash, wash & wash again until it is clean.

That I know is a must, but I was told some stones are harder/softer than others, so before you put them in the tank you gotta put some vinegar on it and something happens. I dunno if I should test for that or not.

okay, asked my husband, a science teacher. Apparently if the stones are from sedimentary rock and you pour vinegar on them they will fizz. He thinks they will probably break down in water. (Didn't tell me that though!!)

isn't it to do with lime? lime makes it fizz meaning its not suitable?

Its made of sediment caused by erosion and layers are formed which quite often have shells in them. Breaks down very easily.

Mine love Aquarian Algae Chips. I also feed them Courgette slices and sometimes Cucumber slices. I find that Cucumber clouds the water alot faster than Courgette.