I bought a trio of bristlenose and collected them today. One of the females has her secondary bristles - the ones that can retract- permantly extended on one side. I haven't put her in the tank yet as I am worried she might get these hooked on something and get further damage. I have held her and tried to push them back gently but they dont move. What can I do about this and will she be in pain? I don't know if this happened today or not and I can't get hold of the seller at the moment as he is at work.

June

I don't know if you saw them being netted when you collected them, the Interopercular spines can be damaged if they become entangled in the net and force is used to remove it.
It could just be that the fish is stressed by the move and it will retract them when it has settled down.

When the fish is threatened it will lock the spines into an open position and therefore makes the fish look bigger and these thorns can help wedge the fish tight into crevices and cracks. If the fish is eaten, the odontodes will ensure that the predator can't swallow the fish easily as its throat lining will be damaged

Thank you. I didn't know the correct name for these spines. I am worried because only one side is sticking out. I have only ever seen a fish do this symmetrically. I didn't see them netted and fear they might have been damaged as the person was in a hurry to return to work. Not blaming anyone but if they don't go back what should I do? If anything...

I really love these fish and feel quite upset if this has been caused today. She is otherwise a beautiful fish.

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I'd check with the seller that it's not an old problem (injury or genetic).
If it's not just keep an eye out for any infection and that it's not causing the fish any problems.

Hopefully this is something that will right itself.

I had a young Oscar that tried to eat a Cory, the cory wedged it's spines in the Oscars mouth.
When I eventually got the Cory out of it's mouth the Cory swam off and the Oscar swam round for several weeks with it's mouth wide open but eventually they recovered.

Get back in contact with the breeder to see if they can recall anything??

Maybe it will go down once she settles in

def not normal June!

I would be getting the seller back on the phone asap! I have seen this once and it was because the fish was stuck in a net. I assumed it was because the tendon or something that pulls them back in was torn. Whatever the case it lived happily til its dying day. tho my mate felt horrible for doing it. he never tired breeding tho, not sure how it will affect it there.

All three fish seem ok overnight. The 'poorly' fish seems more lively than her mate who came with her but both look well. I also think it may be damage to the retracting tendon/muscle mechanism. I don't intend to return the fish and put it through further stress as I drove 140 miles to get it. I will contact the seller and ask but they might not know what happened.

Ouch, Poor thing, I hope it retracts soon...must be uncomfortable...
Let us know how it gets along.

Just for the record I had a very nice email from the seller offering to replace the damaged fish but I prefer to keep her and not cause more stress. He doesn't use nets so that is a relief. I think her bristles look slightly better ie not sticking out so far. She looks happy doing all the usual bristlenose things and doesn't seem to have any problems. I'll watch her closely though.

Good to hear that she is doing better

and good to hear the seller offered a replacement, sounds like a good breeder if you ask me.

good luck for you and the fish

Oh fabulous news about your bn looking a bit better, & wow what a kool local breeder. Thats refreshing..
Thanks for the update

I had this a few weeks back with a big female when she fort with a small male i dont think it is anything to worry about unless the spines stay out for more than 3-4 days, thats how long mine have lasted and they are fine now.

i dont think this is a genetic defect as i have had it with a few different BN's all from different parents.

It should be fighting fit in a couple of days.

Hope it gets better soon.

That's good to know thanks. I panicked when I first saw it.

I took this photo tonight when the lights had gone off in the aquarium. I think she looks a lot better. It's not very clear but the spines are hardly visible now, Phew :-) Compare with top picture.

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Definitely looks a lot better

Could just have been the stress of the move and new enviroment.