stillnzcookie Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 I took the kids to the local pet shop at the weekend, and they currently have some little (about 2cm) bristlenoses. Our 60L tank has 6 Harlequin Rasboras, 3 Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish and 4 Panda Cories, moderate planting and a piece of driftwood. It has been running well for over two years now, and I've just done a water change and water test - as expected, everything was good. So I thought I was all ready to go and get a new fish tomorrow. But I decided to read up on bristlenose requirements again tonight, and a couple of the things I found said they have large territories, so I'm now wondering if our tank is big enough, and also if it would be likely to terrorise our pandas. It would be currently about the same size as the pandas, but it will obviously eventually be much bigger, and I don't want to create a problem further down the track. I know a lot of people do keep bristlenoses in tanks as small as ours, so I'd love to hear people's experiences with keeping them in a small tank. Any advice gratefully appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichthus Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 I think it'd be fine. To be honest, bristlenose grow to a reasonable size for a 60 litre tank, and do big stringy poos. Cute when little, and useful for algae eating, but purely ornamental when larger. I wouldn't worry about him going agro toward other bottom dwellers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 Bristlenoses are pretty fine with everything, I've got a 7cm male in my tank that's about the same size with about the same stocking. Also have a few in my larger tanks and never had any problems with them. They're a pretty staple fish these days I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 All my BN in my display tank (1200 x 500 Footprint) have had to be removed because they keep attacking the Pleco (Only 5cm, atm) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 All my BN in my display tank (1200 x 500 Footprint) have had to be removed because they keep attacking the Pleco (Only 5cm, atm) Get a bigger pleco. Never seen bristlenoses attack anything other than males occasionally fighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 14, 2012 Report Share Posted August 14, 2012 I have had BNs chase other fish away from food but such 'attacks' never harm the other fish. A great addition to your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted August 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Thanks for the advice everyone! We're just home from the pet shop - I gave my four-year-old the choice between a bristlenose and three julii cories and she was adamant she wanted the bristlenose, so that's what we got! Rang hubby to discuss it this morning, and he said if the bristlenose gets too big, we'll just get a bigger tank - the start of a slippery slope, methinks... We actually are planning to get a much bigger tank one day, but not until we have a bigger house to put it in, so hopefully we can keep all the fish happy in the wee tank for another couple of years! Thanks again - I had forgotten how exciting it is getting a new fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted August 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 ps - love the photo, Ira! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Be aware that BNs under 3cm don't always cope with moves (in my experience anyway). They should sell them at 3cm+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted August 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 Thanks Caryl - we found a bigger one (about 5cm), and (s)he's now happily munching algae off the glass in our tank, exploring all the nooks and crannies and meeting the other fish, so fingers crossed! I warned the kids that new fish sometimes die, even when we do everything we can to make them happy - if it happens it will be an important life lesson, I guess. Interesting you say smaller bristlenoses often don't do well - we bought a GBA a few years ago, and it refused to eat and died after a couple of weeks. It was the biggest one in the shop, but it was still only tiny, so that's useful to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted August 15, 2012 Report Share Posted August 15, 2012 ps - love the photo, Ira! +1 :rotf: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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