Hello.
I want to breed bristlenoses. I have a male longfin, the female died due to an accident, so replacing her this weekend.

How many ADULT bristlenoses could I keep in a 2 ft tank, with no other fish, in order to maximise my chances? What ratio male to female should I go for?

High hopkins182, that must be a very tall 2ftr to hold 120ltr.
As for a sex ratio 1M: 2F , always a better idea to have more girly fish(except with cories) and I'd only go with the 3 fish for a 2ftr, maybe a few dither fish for some colour and something to watch.
J

i agree J with it being a 2ft tank there wont be very much space at the bottom were they spend 95% of there life so more than one male may become a problem id stick to 1 m 2 Fm's....or 3 Fm's at the most...be they argue like mad over food...women BN's are very greedy.. :pig:

three adults 1m 2f and half a dozen guppies for coloure and to take any food from the top that doesnt sink

Its 80 cm, so 2 and a half ft I spose. Will one male knock up more than 1 female then? Was thinking guppies or a couple of dwarf gouramis, and a small shoal of neons for the mid range. Should I avoid going for a planted tank? I guess the BNs will make a mess of things.

If you feed them well they should not eat plants, mine don't

80cm is 4 inch short of 3ft, 1 male will try to take on as many females you can throw at him, and like Jagtazman
said feed them well and you shouldn't have any trouble with plants- I would try to avoid plants that need to be rooted
in gravel or whatever substrate your using, it's just too much of pain in the neck replanting them all after vacuming
and digging them up all the time doesn't give them the oppertunity to develope a healthy root system.
J

That's what I was getting at. I'm sick of java ferns and moss though. Had them before and they took over a 4ft aquarium! Was thinking just going with Vallis and anubias. Do BNs dig? My L135 loves a good rummage under the gravel!

I had Vallis in my 4ft grow out tank for the baby B/N's and it didn't take them long to start mowing it down,
Vallis is a very soft structured plant and bristlies will eat these types of plants -- I only use different varieties of
Anubias now days planted on wood.
No digging up plants and the bristlies usually only clean any algae off of them with out eating the plants.
J