# Bristlenose Pleco aggression??



## FishHead

I have a bristlenose pleco in my goldfish tank. I feed him once a day with sinking shrimp pellets. He mostly hides in my dark sewer pipes. The issue I am having is he is sticking to the side of my Lionhead and sucking off his slimecoat. I can move him into my 33L with my gouramis, RTS, and panda cories. Would that be more sensible to do? I have 2 snails with my goldies as well, so it isn't a problem with keeping the tank clean..Thanks in advance..


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## New to reefs

Not something a bristlenose would generally do. It could be he isn't getting enough nourishment, are you giving him greens, like cucumber, lettuce etc? 
You could try it with the other fish, tho i think that the gouramis would be more of a target as they are flat bodied.


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## trashion

I'm sure you've heard this before, but plecos and goldfish ought not be mixed due to their different needs in temperature. Sinking shrimp pellets aren't really adequate nutrition for a pleco, at least one that isn't mostly carnivorous (clown plecos are) You should supplement his diet with cucumbers, algae wafers, etc.


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## Obsidian

I have a BN in with my Gourami and my cories. Yes it is aggressive and it will sometimes (when I feed bottom food) it will try to latch on to the other fish, however after a few attempts at this my other fish figured it out and are now quite fast at getting away. They do not avoid the BN at all but if the BN turns towards them then they swim away fast. All of them are able to get away easily and I don't feel that anyone is stressed. 

And the BN and the Lionheads water needs are different, so I would change housing.


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## FishHead

i picked up some more algae wafers since I ran out. I started feeding him them as well. I will be moving the BN to my 33L. Hopefully he won't hide as much.


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## Obsidian

Mine never hides. She will even flare her gills at me at the front of the tank.


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## FishHead

very cool. They are ugly little buggers, but I cant stop looking at him.LOL


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## New to reefs

I think they are cute. And i agree with trashion, tropical fish can't be kept with cold water....


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## FishHead

New to reefs said:


> I think they are cute. And i agree with trashion, tropical fish can't be kept with cold water....


temp is 72 degress in my tank. Goldies and pleco are doing great. It doesn't matter anyways, since the BN is getting moved


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## New to reefs

FishHead said:


> temp is 72 degress in my tank. Goldies and pleco are doing great. It doesn't matter anyways, since the BN is getting moved


Thats good!  Just thought to mention.


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## FishHead

New to reefs said:


> Thats good!  Just thought to mention.


the only thing that would concern me is if my red tail shark and the BN will pump heads. the tank is a 33L, so they have adequate room to venture around.


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## mousey

I was interested to hear that your BN was aggressive.
Since mine died, my horsefaced laoch has been a different fish. the 2 of them were forever arguing about something and it was usually the laoch that buried itself into the gravel. Since the BN died , the loach has taken over the tank and now tries to chase the platies away.


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## CukeTheExile

heres my two cents;

"the bulk of their diet must be composed of vegetable matter. If a high protein diet is fed constantly, then they will become prone to stomach disorders. Vegetable roughage keeps the gut in working order, and bogwood is a valuable addition to this.

In the aquarium they prefer a strong water current with lots of oxygen, and require plenty of hiding places. Bogwood is ideal for this, as it is not only attractive to look at and provides plenty of shelter.

They are gentle and unassuming fish, and can be kept in community tanks with the most timid of inhabitants. Even tiny fry will be left unharmed once free-swimming."
http://planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=49

What i find with some of my smaller plec's is that if givin' plenty of hiding places they tend to be more outgoing, my suggestion to you would be that if you want to see more of the BN make sure you have lots of places for it to readly hide in. 
I'v never personally had any agression tword other fish with a BN, although a couple of Clown pleco i had were very agressive, and even killed one Blue Gourami.

-Jacob


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## FishHead

hey Jacob, thanks for the info. The BN has been hanging out on the driftwood in my 33. I haven't seen him too much. I also have panda cories in the tank, so I feed sinking shrimp pellets and algae wafers once a day.


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