Animal-World > Aquarium Tropical Fish > Catfish > Bristle-nose Catfish

   Looking like the proverbial dog that just stuck its mouth in a porcupine, the Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish are a very interesting and colorful member of the Loricariidae family of catfish.

   The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish can be used successfully to help rid the aquarium of problem algae. They will also will cling to the glass. They stay much smaller than their cousin and much more common catfish, the Pleco or Plecostomus. Similar to the Plecostomus, it is a good idea to keep some wood in the tank since rasping algae from the wood provides a perfect place for more algae to grow maintaining a constant food source for the fish.

   Coming from fast flowing tributaries of the Amazon river, ancistrus species prefer well oxygenated water with some currents.

   The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish prefer a darker aquarium with pieces of wood or roots to form caves and hiding places. The aquariums in the photos above are set up just right. Also notice the vegetable matter placed with a weight in the tank with A. hoplogenys. We're not sure but it looks like celery or bunched lettuce. They are nocturnal and so prefer doing their work at night.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Habitat: Distribution / Background

   The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish are found in th fast flowing tributaries of the Amazon River in South America.

• Scientific Name: Ancistrus cirrhosus
• Social Grouping: Groups
• IUCN Red List: NE - Not Evaluated or not listed

Description

   A. cirrhosis gets up to 13 cm (5 inches).
   A. hoplygenys is smaller at 8 cm (3 inches).
   A. ranunclus , no info found yet.

• Maximum Size: 5.0 inches (12.70 cm) - Some varities will be smaller than this.
• Lifespan: 12 years

Fish Keeping Difficulty

• Aquarium Hardiness: Moderately hardy
• Aquarist Experience Level: Beginner

Foods and Feeding

   Since they are herbivorous the Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish will eat undesirable algae. They will not harm plants, but make sure the aquarium is well seasoned and feed a supplemental sinking algae pellet to make sure they don't starve. Also blanched spinach and lettuce can be use to supplement their diet. Because they are super algae eaters, they must have veggies!

• Diet Type: Herbivore
• Flake Food: No
• Tablet Pellet: Yes - This fish should be fed a tablet food specifically formulated for herbiviores of the bottom dwelling variety.
• Vegetable Food: Most of Diet
• Feeding Frequency: Daily

Aquarium Care

• Water Changes: Bi-weekly

Aquarium Setup

• Minimum Tank Size: 45 gal (170 L)
• Substrate Type: Any
• Lighting Needs: Low - subdued lighting
• Temperature: 73.0 - 80.0° F (22.8 - 26.7° C)
• Range ph: 5.8-7.5
• Hardness Range: 2 - 20 dGH
• Brackish: No
• Water Movement: Strong
• Water Region: Bottom

Social Behaviors

   The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish generally get along well with other fish but may fight among themselves especially if two males are put together. Some Ancistrus species males have even been observed with their bristles tangled together from their rambunctious behaviour!

• Venomous: No
• Temperament: Peaceful - This fish is generally peaceful however intraspecies aggression is not uncommon particularly among males.
• Same species - conspecifics: Yes
• Peaceful fish (): Safe
• Semi-Aggressive (): Monitor - Can usually be kept with semi-aggressive and even aggressive fish such as cichlids.
• Aggressive (): Monitor
• Slow Swimmers & Eaters (): Safe
• Shrimps, Crabs, Snails: Safe - not aggressive
• Plants: Safe

Sex: Sexual differences

   Most males of the ancistrus species have more and longer tentacles than the females, this is especially true of the A. hoplygenys .
   A. cirrhosis : The male has an antler-like bump on its' forehead while the female has a row of short tentacles.
   A. hoplygenys : The male is larger with barbs, the female is smaller without barbs.
   A. ranunclus : no info found yet.

Breeding / Reproduction

   Recommended water conditions: 5-10° dGH, 6.5-7.0 pH
   A. cirrhosis lays eggs in clusters in the hollows or roots. The fish in the top picture (above) is a male who is spawning with a female in the woodwork. After spawning the male will guard the eggs and fans them to keep them aerated. The fry will hatch after about 5 days and will attach themselves to flat surfaces like the sides of the aquarium. They have a yolk sac which is consumed after another 14 days or so at which time you can feed them pulverized green flake food or other baby food.
   A. hoplygenys is similar to A. cirrhosis except breeding does not happen as frequently and is therefore considered harder to accomplish.

• Ease of Breeding: Easy

Availability

   The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish is readily available.

References

Animal-World References
Freshwater Fish and Plants Tropical Fish ~ Freshwater Fish ~ Aquatic Plants

Author: David Brough. CFS.

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Lastest Comments on Bristle-nose Catfish View all 25 comments on Bristle-nose Catfish Add Your Comment

yohseeme - 2011-12-17 I just got a male peppermint bristlenose today and it has been chased and harassed by female brown bristlenoses (2 of them) whole day.... The peppermint male looks a bit panicking and breathing heavily some time and not eating much...do you think this is not good environment? David Brough - 2012-01-17 Probably not a good environment. Harassment will cause stress and eventually kill the fish. Best to separate them or get a larger aquarium to keep harassment at a minimum. Reply

yohseeme - 2011-10-18 Is a glass ball style tank not suitable to have a Bristlenose? I feed them wafer twice a day but just making cloudy water and Bristlenose is not eating much...hope to learn water change cycle and feeding for it, if I can get advise...thanks. Alex Burleson - 2011-10-18 The minimum recommended aquarium size for a Bristlenose Pleco, is 30 gallons. If your fish does not consume all of its wafers, it is advisable to remove the excess food from the aquarium. To keep the aquarium clean, a 25% water change per week, should suffice. yohseeme - 2011-10-19 Thank you Alex so much! I'll get bigger tank and transfer them to make it more comfortable and follow your advise ^.^ Reply

ivor whitehouse - 2005-10-28 excellent and interesting fish. i bought four babys and they grew into two breeding pairs which have laid nine batches of eggs over the past twelve months. i've had over a hundred young which survived from the eggs and have given many away. they are easy to breed and seem to be quite hardy with only the very young ones dying now and again. i feed algae wafers as they clean the tanks of natural algae. they are crazy about cucumber and they will eat plants if you don't provide enough food. they will strip broad leaved plants in the aquarium by rasping at the leaves. so to say they leave plants alone is a little untrue as they only seem to ignore them when well fed. i use bog wood in my tanks which also keeps them happy and is supposed to help with digestion in some way. the information about them being nocturnal is not so accurate as the females and youngsters seem to be quite active when the lighting is on with only the adult males wanting to stay hidden. i love these fish along with clown loaches. Emma - 2011-09-15 Dear Ivor I have a breeding pair of bristlenose plecos. About a week ago they had a bat of 50 eggs which all hatched into free swimmers. This morning I awoke to 45/50 fry dead on the bottom of the tank and am a bit confused as they were all very active last night before I went to bed. Do you have any ideas as to what I may be doing wrong as this also happened with the last batch aswell. Reply

Sue - 2011-08-20 I have baby bristle nose about 3wks old and my tank is very cloudy. I went to clean it and found more eggs. How can I get rid of this cloudiness and will the eggs die from a water change Charlie Roche - 2011-08-20 If the water is effectively that stagnant (dirty) and you don't clean it, don't you run the risk of losing the fish - and also the eggs. I'd rather error on the side of safety and clean the tank. Reply

Chris Norris - 2011-07-08 Hi guys. I have a long fin bristle nose who is doing well but i have noticed that his fins are not as big and as nice as they were when I got him. He's in a 90l comunity tank and has always been left alone never nibbled or chased by anything. I can use help me with my problem...??? Charlie Roche - 2011-07-08 I included the article on Fish Disease and Treatment. It might be Fin & Tail rot which is a bacteial infection. He could have had it when you brought him home. He could have hurt himself somehow in the tank and it caused a bacterial infection. Another fish could have nipped him. It happens. Anyway, look at the article and find the symptoms and check out that disease and just look at symptoms in general. The recomended treatment is there. Chris Norris - 2011-07-09 Thanks for your help cheryl. I will look into it. Reply

Gwen - 2010-08-28 I am new too the whole fish thing. I have had 2 comet goldfish and 1 common goldfish for about a year. About a week ago I got a Bristle nose Catfish, and now one of my comets is bleeding and its tail is torn, and the Bristle nose is a little tattered too. My other goldfish appear to be fine. Do you think that the water quality is just bad, or that possibly those two were fighting? While I wait for a response, I am going to clean my tank and add some salt. By the way, thanks for the advice, I didn't know you needed wood or to add food for Bristle noses. Editor's Note - 2010-08-28 It sounds like the two of them were most likely fighting. Bad water quality most likely would not cause bleeding and torn fins. Are there any rocks or ornaments that have sharp edges? Those could also cause injury if the fish swam too close. If you observe either of the fish picking at each other in the future, consider adding plants or ornaments that would provide a place for the fish to hide in. Shay - 2010-09-22 Catfish (bristle nose included) don't do well with salt. I would vote against that. Anonymous - 2011-01-28 omg don't add salt plecos are freshwater fish.................... John - 2011-06-20 You need to have a special kind of salt for freshwater fish too. -_- Reply

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