|
 |
Bristle-nose Catfish - AncistrusSuckermouth Catfish - Armor-Plated Catfish Family: Loricariidae
Syn: Ancistrus dolichopterus Syn: Ancistrus temminickii Image copyright: Kathy Jinkings, British Aquatic Resource Centre All rights reserved 
Snowflake BristlenosePearl Sucker Ancistrus hopolgenys Image copyright: Kathy Jinkings, British Aquatic Resource Centre All rights reserved 
Ancistrus ranunclus
Image copyright: Kathy Jinkings, British Aquatic Resource Centre.
All rights reserved 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:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Geographic Distribution Ancistrus cirrhosus |
|---|
|
| Point data provided by FishBase.org |
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!
Distribution:
The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish are found in th fast
flowing tributaries of the Amazon River in South America.
Size - Weight:
A. cirrhosis gets up to 13 cm (5
inches).
A. hoplygenys is smaller at 8 cm
(3 inches).
A. ranunclus, no info found yet.
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!
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.
Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
These fish will stay in the bottom of the aquarium, and sometimes
on the sides clinging to the glass.
Acceptable Water Conditions:
Hardness: 2-20° dGH
Ph: 5.8 to 7.5
Temp: 23-27° C
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. The male will them 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 it has not happened as frequently and is
therefore considered harder to accomplish.
Availability:
The Ancistrus or Bristle-nose Catfish is readily available.
Comments from people who have kept this fish:
I am about to buy a bristle nosed catfish, would like any information on how long they live for, if I can keep them in a normal bedrooom, and the light and dark conditions.
I've had both the regular and bristlenose plecos in the past, and in my opinion bristlenoses are the better fish. For one thing they stay small, and i have had many problems with regular plecos attacking my fish especially my goldfish. Regular plecos can sometime turn mean and start to clean my fish instead of the glass. This has never occured with the bristlenose. If you need a pleco for your goldfish tank go with the bristlenose, you wont regret it.
We bought a pair of young adult snowflake bristlenose catfish (hoplygenys) last year and they've performed an amazing job of keeping our 4' community tank totally algae free - much better than the "algae eating shrimps" managed alone. We have our lighting on a timer giving 12 hours of light per day. Both the male and female prefer to feed at night and are very shy, the slightest movement sends them diving for cover! While we were away over Christmas they've had a good time, as we came back to about a dozen babies busily scrubbing the gravel :-) The young have no fear of light or movement. Great site by the way, lots of useful info. I didn't know about feeding them celery/cucumber so thanks for that :)
I bought a new tank 3 months ago and I was starting to get alot of algae in my tank. So I went to the fish store to go buy a pleco, and bought a bristol nose. In one night it had my tank looking new. gotta get one!!
Our pair of bristle noses have just had a batch of eggs hatch, and they've already laid another batch. These little fellas are way cool.
you can`t beat these little fella`s, having said that I have 2 very large sail fin plec`s at just over 1 foot in my heated KOI pond. they help to keep the alge down so they help the UV do it`s job. I also have 7 baby bristle nose and another sailfin in my 4 foot tank.
Some of the coolest comments:
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.
If you dont have a Pleco in your tank, you dont know what you are missing. I love them. They are great to watch and you can get so many different kinds, sizes and colours, I have 4 of them. 2 Bristlenosed, 1 Veiltail, 1 Royal and soon to get a Zebra Pleco. They are a great edition to any tank and they dont eat your plants or bully other fish, even the larger Plecos. A must have fish.
Author: David Brough. CFS.
[Home] [Newsfeed]
[Saltwater Aquariums]
[Reef Aquariums]
[Freshwater Aquariums]
[Cats][Pet Birds] [Small Animals] [Reptiles] [Cute Pets] [References] [Team] [Pet Links] [Pet Supplies] [Care Sheets] [About Animal-World] [Site Map][Privacy Policy] [Recommended Pet Books]
