hi i have been trying to get him confy for about a week now i got a breeding group. 1 male with two, females. i ahve tryed to built caves and stuff but no matterwhat i do he just hides behind the fitler.

what can i do?

Hrmmm, Few questions...

How big is he?

Does he have many places to hide?

is there any other fish in the tank?

Its not rare for a bristlenose to hide behind the filter. Its a good spot, got lots of water movement and usually plenty of algae to chew on


as long as he is eating he will be fine. remember that they are nocternal and it can take months beofre they feel like coming out the day. Hell, my L333 and L201s dont come out ever, and they have been in the tank for 5 months now!

ya he is eating but i want he to use the hides as i want them to breed and i dont think this will happen if he hides behind the filter?

and also there are some small guppies/ mollys in the tank and thats about it

the tank is 48/18/18 inch

there are a few caves but i am in the process of building some more. but i still cant work out the dimensions i need to build the cave for them to breed in happerly?

Give him some time. Behind the filter is a common place for males to hide...and on the odd occasion, breed

Caves are generally made to have an opening of 2.5-3cms high and 4-5cms wide but most bristlenose males are not picky. as long as they can fit in there and its kinda snug the they are happy

hell, my latest spawn happened between two bit of wood, even though there are two caves in the tank... tho that male has always been a bit odd!

give him some time annd he will be fine. I bet you good money that at night he is out susing the tank out, checking out the laidies, sharing a meal etc. in time he will decide where he wants to be, and it may be behind the filter. not too much you can do about it. I had a monster male once who would spend all day behind the filter, and all night crusing the tank. he was happy as larry.

thats great thank you for all you help