# Bristlenose Pleco, Good for 10 gal?



## Mari

Hi all. My 10 gal is having algae problems, and I took a visit to petland and saw some bristle nose plecos. The sign said, good for small tanks. Is this true? and if it is, how good at cleaning an algae problem are they? they seemed to be very busy cleaning and getting around at the petland...
Would this be good, and if so is one okay? Thanks...


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## Fishfirst

its sorta true... although I would suggest oto catfish instead... they stay only about 2 inchs...


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## Mari

I actually tried ottos...not much luck. accidentally sucked one into gravel vaccum  and lost the other a week later... thought I'd go the pleco way...they are bigger and most likely easier to see...


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## UgLy_eLf

What about chinese algae eaters?

Yeah I'd maybe stay away from pleco's, I've been getting larger tanks for mine since I first bought him for my 10 gallon. He was 3 inches or so, now he's 7 and in a 28 gallon, another upgrade will probably be needed, unless I give the fellah away and I dont wanna so


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## shev

CAE's chineese alage eaters, will not fit in a 10 gallon, and will most likely kill you other fish.

bristle nosed plecos need driftwood. plecos are poop machines and can easily spoil the water of a 10 gallon without frequent water changes.


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## X-Pande-R

yes 1 will be good for your tank.


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## Mr Aquarium

I bought a B-Pleco a couple weeks ago now, and he keeps my 75g cleaner then I did....
And I don;t notice him having any preference to driftwood over anything else,
What ever needs cleaned he clean it, or If I feed the fish the food I mixed up for them and he;s out an around he parks right where all the debrie falls and sits there for awhile.
He is a work happy camper that is for sure, 
You could sit here and almost watch the brown algie grow on the glass before I got him.

Now If I could train him to clean the outsideglass to All I would have left to do is the w/c every week, hehe

 Mr Aquarium


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## fishfreaks

i see no reason why cant have one as long as you keep up on water changes and your testing


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## fishfreaks

p.s. if you do decide to go for it, you might want to get some algae wafers b/c the bushynose will quickly clean up your tank!


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## Osiris

exactly what fishfreak said, it will be fine in a 10g tank, hell they breed them in 10g tanks, along with zebra plecos.


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## Fishnut2

BN plecos are excellent algae eaters. A 10 gallon will be too small for them when they reach adult size. They normally get about 4", although I've seen them as big as 6". I've seen them breed in a 10 gallon tank, but it was clearly too small for the adult fish! Get a BN with plans of moving it to a bigger tank once it matures. They are fairly easy to breed as well


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## Fishfirst

^^ exactly what I was thinking... you probably lost your oto catfish because they do better in groups, and you said you had two (which is fine) but one died by getting sucked up, and then the other died... also reduced feeding, water changes and frequent small maintenance will reduce the amount of algae you have...


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## Mari

Sorry, I forgot a bit about this post, but thanks a lot for all your help. I think that I will get one...I am trying a few of the other things suggested to lessen the algae as well, because I am going to have to wait a while before I can get one. Thanks again


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## Fish33

What other fish do you have in the tank? Here is something that I found about them. I think 10 gallons is a little too small...

Quick Stats 
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons 
Care Level: Easy 
Tank Conditions: 74-79°F; pH 6.5-7.4; KH 6-10 
Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 4½" 
Color Form: Brown 
Temperament: Peaceful 
Diet: Omnivore 
Compatibility: View Chart 
Origin: South America 
Family: Loricariidae 



The Bushy Nose Plecostomus, also known as the Bristlenose Plecostomus, comes from the rivers and tributaries of South America. It is mainly brown, with a mottling of lighter areas. The mouth area and nose are covered in short, whisker-like appendages, which are used for detecting food. Bushy Nose Plecos make good additions to any community aquarium.

Planted aquariums with hearty, fast-growing plants, high aeration, and water movement make for a healthy environment. Rocks and driftwood help to accent a natural habitat and provide hiding spaces to cut down on stress for the Bushy Nose Plecostomus. A recommended minimum tank of 30 gallons should be provided to house this fish.

Feeding the Bushy Nose Plecostomus is not difficult due to the fact that it is not a picky eater. Feeding off the bottom of the aquarium, it gets most of its nutrition from left over food and algae. If there is no algae or left over food present, supplement with high quality flake food, sinking carnivore pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, and tubifex.


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## Mari

I've got tiger barbs and red minors...which again I have been told are in too small of a tank. Now, I have been trying to get a larger tank, but since it will go in the living room, it is up to my mom. Now, my house is rather small, and my mom doesn't necessarily want a larger tank that will take up more room, but I am working on it though. I believe I will be able to upgrade it . Currently I have 3 tiger barbs and 4 red minors, and would like to add the pleco in. I am doing water changes as needed, and have plenty of hiding spaces. thanks for your help, I will see if I can find a smaller type pleco...I heard something about a midnight one? when I first got my barbs, I inquired about a pleco, and this type I believe is what the LFS told me. However I think it might have been too expensive at the time. Thanks again.


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## Osiris

Fish33, 

Those are their native stats, and suggested but not always correct living stats. Pleco's can be kept in any PH level water, we keep more of the fancier pleco's in our african tanks along with lots have them in BN"s with africans cichlids, They are adaptive to their enviroment very easily. the BN will be fine, u will know when he gets to big, and who in this hobby, no anyone who has taken time to find this forum will more then likely upgrade to bigger tank.


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## osteoporoosi

Bristlenoses can grow up to 15cm, 10g is too small.


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## Osiris

osteporoosi, u have any idea how long it takes to get that big? lol long time. and longer if in 10g if they get it when smaller as it can release a hormone or chemical that will stunt their growth for so long.


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## osteoporoosi

Doesn't take that long, 3-4 years. I mean't that they can't be kept permanently in a 10g, 30g sounds more like it.


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## Osiris

ah ok,

not that long? lol 3-4 yrs is long to me anyway.

in 3-4 yrs i will have a 180g Concave Tank in my house, by then! lol


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## Lexus

3-4 years is longer than some tropical fish expectancys!


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## Fishfirst

and some can live 20 years


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## Osiris

yup yup, think my oldest is around 2yrs, aulo. baenschi, so cool how they live so long. versus ur regular guppies, what is max life? 1 1/2 yrs? lol


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## osteoporoosi

livebearers propably have the shortest life, max. 3-4 years. Even tetras can live up to 8 years.


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## wetpetshawaii

awww actually Ive seen plecos up to 14 inches in length they breed quite often and grow at a rapid pace.....a local stream here in Hawaii has thousands of them swimming around we gotta watch where we step at night...either that or wear covered shoes..it hurts like a $#[email protected]^%# when you get poked by one of their spines....we even got the ity bity tiny ones in the grassy areas....but in no time they will be monsters on the loose....our Department of Agriculture tried to eradicate them years ago...unsuccessfully....The Plecos WON!!! LOL


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## Fishfirst

the pleco species we were talking about only get around 4 inches


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## wetpetshawaii

do you have any pictures love to see them........we only have one kind out here.....the big ugly kind....LOL!!!


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## wetpetshawaii

heres a picture of these large plecos that are overtaking our local streams....


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