Heyas all! Fell in love with my friends BN, so friendly and adorable i just had to have 1 or 2

So been researching all I could the last week, prepared my tank and am now the proud papa of 2 very small (1 1/2") cuties!

These are the first fish i've ever had and 2 days in I just love them!

I just have a 10 gallon tank, I know it is small but will be upgrading asap. There is 2 java ferns, 1 pce malaysian wood(bog?), 1 cave, 1 airstone, and a decent pump/filter. I have been feeding them algae discs and some flakes to get them started, and will try some blanched Zuccini tonight.

I don't have any intelligent questions right away, heh, but if ur seeing a red flag, pls let me know. These little guys are keeping me company while I am stuck at home for the next several months, they are helping me relax and smile and I want to keep them happy as they are making me

Guess i have 1 question to start... Should i get them some friends? Like 6 glowlight tetras i was thinking or similar very small fish.

This is the first forum I've ever joined as well (besides the mmo i play), but just thought i'd say hi to all and see how this goes. Not sure how i became a BN lover basically overnight but am looking forward to sharing experiences and info with you all.

Jeff

Hi Jeff and welcome to Bristlenoseworld

There is a list of veg HERE that you could try. The six in the starter list usually go down well.

Your set up sounds fine, you could add a couple of small fish or better still you could wait untill you upgrade.

Any problems and there will always be someone on hand to help

welcome abard

No red flags from me

See you out on the forums

Hi and welcome to the forum

Thanx for the quick responses! Been reading the forums(apparently not logged in) for the last few hrs, I def found the right place Loving all the pics and info!

Hi Jeff Your bristlenoses don't need any friends and will be happier without any and also the tank will be cleaner with less fish and healthier for them with it being on the small side.If you want other fish that is a different matter and in a tank that size don't add very many,a school of tetras or similar will be fine but i wouldn't get more than that.Would be better to wait till you upgrade like Jim said

I have a question,You say you set up the tank last week and these are the first fish you have had.Did you cycle the tank ?

Great to have you hear jeff

You've defo come to the right place...... Have fun..........

I ran the tank with conditioners for about 4 days. All tests were good, have had Fred and Wilma in for 3 days now and they are doing well and are quite busy in there. Have decided to keep just the 2 of them in this tank.

So, I made the caves out of brown plastic jar lids (boiled first, im on a budget) is this acceptable? They are dark, but i set them up so I can just barely see inside. They use both of them, one is underneath bogwood, and the other near the plants. Also, on the plant side i have gravel and the bogwood side i left the bottom bare... they are keeping it very clean. I have another plastic lid weighted with some gravel which am using as a food dish, blanched a green string bean peeled it in half last night and they didnt seem to go for it. They are liking the algae discs, and few tropical flakes that ive put in are getting vacuumed up. Am pulling the food out every 8 hrs, they barely make a dent in the discs tho. Some fine particles in the water from the wood i believe, tho i did soak them for 24 hrs in the bathtub first.

Loving this hobby so much!

Oh, am going shopping, gonna buy some mushrooms and see if they will go for them floating on the top

Hi Jeff and welcome.

I've been a member of a few forums and this is one of the best/friendliest I've known, no-one here will make you feel like you've asked a stupid question and all will try and help with some friendly advise.

As my dad always says, whats a simple question to one is hard to some one who doesn't now the answer and the only way to get to know the answer is to ask.!



Jon

to Bristlenose world you will love it here

Bristlenoses wrote:

I have a question,You say you set up the tank last week and these are the first fish you have had.Did you cycle the tank ?

Very good question

Jeff there are beneficial bacteria in your tank that use ammonia as a food source, converting the ammonia into less harmful Nitrites and converting the Nitrites into less harmfull Nitrates. (This is called the Nitrogen Cycle) This ammonia is supplied by the fish waste in the tank. When the tank is first set up there isn't enough beneficial bacteria to take care of all the ammonia so it can build up and cause harm to the fish. Water changes will help lower the ammonia until there is enough bacteria to handle the load. A good water testing kit will help you know when to do a water change until you have enough beneficial bacteria. I use API freshwater testing kit. I'm not sure what you can get there as I live in the USA
Bristlenose like other types of Plecs are huge waste producers so it doesn't take long for the ammonia to get out of hand.

Don't mean to throw this at you all at once but I know you want to take good care of your new buddies
Let us know if you need anything
carol

Hmmm, i did not know much about the cycling being my first tank.... prolly should've cycled it for a few weeks. When I upgrade my tank, i will be more patient.

Yesterday while riding the train, I saw a small hole in the wall fish store so I stopped in on the way home. Ran into Peter who I met before in a very large industrial style fish warehouse. I have been visiting many fish stores in my city and have found most of the people who work in these places all know each other! So we're chatting and I told him my love of Bns and that i felt my 2 may both be males (1 for sure, his bristles are already*antlering, the other has a lot of whiskers around the mouth) and that I would really like a female. This small store had many large *normal Plecs, but alas, no Bns, the 500Gal tank had an amazing 1 1/2 ft albino plec!

Anyways Peter asked me if I had 10 min to spare, of course i did, so we went to his home across the street and he showed me his 15 or so tanks OMG! He showed me his personal Bn assortment, pointed out his females(for sure) and asked me which one I wanted so 20 min later I left with a head swimming with more knowledge and ideas than I can comprehend still, and a beautiful female partner for my 1 1/2 men!

Fish ppl are so awesome!

Congrats on getting yourself a female for ya boys. It's always good to meet people in your local area and exchange ideas. Good luck with your venture into breeding

Hi again,congrats on getting a female O.K now I am concerned that you are going to run into trouble because you havn't cycled your tank.Please get a test kit or at least some test strips and start testing your water every day for the next few weeks and doing water changes as required.I would hate for you to come on here and say your bristlenoses aren't looking or doing very well.Carol gave some good info on why the cycle is important and now you have a third fish it will be an even bigger ammonia load.What will help is underfeeding instead of over feeding and water changes,water changes and more water changes .

If you do infact have two males and one female you will probably need to get at least one more female as two males to one female isn't a great combo but please first sort the cycle out.I am only saying this as I don't want you to have problems and your fish get ill or worse die.