A question for you bristlenose owners...

Does the size of your males' bristles ever get shorter? I've noticed on a couple of mine that the bristles are quite a bit shorter. They are still fully formed with the little forks on the ends, so I know they aren't being nipped off. I moved one of them to the quarantine tank where he has been alone and they continue to shrink.

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with water parameters? Will they grow back?

I have four males and this is happening on two of them. idunno

Wow Aura, that I hear the very first time. However, I have never checked either.

That is a very interesting question and I will check at my home club for an answer. There are some members that specialize in bristle nose plecos.

Thank you Klaus. I asked the question over at PlanetCatfish, but couldn't really get any information.

I want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong that might be hurting them. :Sad:

Wow, I'm anxious to follow this thread! Thanks, Aura, for asking this.

:: peering at my bn pleco ::

Not anything I've ever noticed, but as elusive as plecos can be and as unconcious as I am half the time, it's certainly possible.

I'll be interested to see if Klaus comes up with anything on this!

I actually thought this was Steph's thread...We were trying to pick her out some young albino BN Saturday night, and had a hard time sexing them. Some thought females had no bristles, but IME, females do have bristles, just harder to see than males. Males also usually have a red spot right in the middle of their heads once they reach breeding size.

Kim

I have two females that have very short bristles too, Kim. The males have had longer bristles, until this problem came up. The other one isn't this bad, but here are some pictures of what I mean.

He had some nice bristles here.


They are a little shorter here; it's not too noticeable in this picture, but I could tell.



And it's very obvious here. :Sad:


He's eating algae and veggies and seems okay behavior-wise.

What's happening to him?

I don't have a clue, Aura...

Is this an old one?

Kim

Could this be a function of age?

I used to be 6'5" and look like Tom Selleck.

In my mid-50's I'm now 5'11 and look like Leslie Nielsen!

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. I was 6'4 and looked like Tom Selleck.

Seriously, there are some pretty extreme changes some species go through as they mature. Could this be normal?

Pseudo - On the Floor Laughing That is too funny!

I've only had this guy for about three months. I looked back at the date on the first picture and it was taken on July 5, so these changes have happened over that period of time. I have no idea how old he is, but he's about 4 to 5 inches long. It's certainly possible that he was old when I got him.

The response I got from PlanetCatfish was unsure, but they had heard that the bristles simulated babies and were used to attract females. I wonder if he could be shrinking because there's no one to show off for. Blush

It just seems strange because this isn't happening to the others. Maybe he is just getting old.

Personally, if I were a pleco, I'd find him much more attractive in the first pic, too!

I meant to tell you yesterday, Aura, those pics are really good and it makes me wonder why you don't post more pics of your other beautiful fish???

Kim

I ditto that remark -- the photos were fascinating and beautifully done.

Just thought I would update this posting.

The bristles continued to shrink on this guy and were basically just little nubs. He kept doing a great job on the algae and I tried to give him a well balanced diet, adding food after the lights had been out. But sadly, he died this weekend. :Sad:

I don't know what could have been wrong; I hope it was just old age.

My others are fine.

I heard of it before and if I remember right it isn't anything to worry about.

Sorry to hear that Aura.

Sorry to hear about your BNP Aura. You said that another BN was having the similar thing, how is that one doing?

The other one seems to be fine, cturner. The bristles are still noticeably smaller, but they aren't getting any worse. idunno

The other two still have their normal bristles. They were never as long as the one pictured, but at least they aren't shrinking!

Sorry to hear about your BN pleco, Aura! :Sad:

What have you found out from the catfish experts? Hmmmm Now this should be good!