bristlenose behavior

**fishn00b** · 02-12-2013, 01:08 AM

I just added a BN to my tank and was wondering what I should be looking for in terms of healthy behavior, should he just always be stuck to something? There is plenty of wood, algae and plants in the tank. This morning I dropped some mini algae waffers in, most of them were gone by the time I got home from work, but my panda garras have extremely fat bellies (although i doubt the 3 of those little guys could have eaten them all). However the BN seems to be acting weird for the past couple of hours, he just laying there - maybe this is normal because he might have had a big meal? I don't know what to really expect. I thought he should always be suctioned to something.

I also had a small ammonia spike (~0.25ppm) which I corrected right away down to 0. Was at .25 for at most 12 hours. Not sure if this has anything to do with it.

**Goes to 11!** · 02-12-2013, 01:29 AM

My money is on 'still adjusting to his new place' & yeah, They do lay around alot. I would give him some time to settle in, I throw wafers in for my plecs after lights out btw.

Do keep an eye on those parameters though.

**fishn00b** · 02-12-2013, 02:32 AM

hmm alright, I just was concerned because the first 24 hours he was always hard to spot, in the wood crevices, behind stuff etc. Tonight he is just lounging out in the open. I just saw a rummynose inspect him and he just kind of swatted him away but didn't change spots.

**Goes to 11!** · 02-12-2013, 02:51 AM

I wouldn't expect anything close to normal in just 24 hours.

I leave the lights off and don't feed for a day or two after stock comes out of QT just to let them chill out and get to know their new digs.

**talldutchie** · 02-12-2013, 04:23 AM

Stick in some blanched green veg and you'll see some action

**mizzoutank** · 02-12-2013, 04:50 AM

+1 to waiting it out.

I have a bristlenose in QT, and he's been real shy for the first few days adjusting.

Now-he's acting like a normal pleco, not hiding 24/7, active and finds the algae wafers actively.

**fishn00b** · 02-12-2013, 10:08 PM

No ammonia spike today, levels seem pretty normal, but the behavior is still kinda weird. I am also noticing his color isn't exactly the same as it was when he first went into the tank, take a look at the pictures:

Here is day 1 (sunday) you can see him on the back wall, basically all dark brown with some freckles.
pleco 1.jpg

Here is tonight, where you can see he appears lighter in color, and is just kinda of lounging as I described above. Note I have no idea what "healthy/normal" pleco behavior is like because I have never had one until now. I am on my way out to get some zucchini and see if I can't get him to snap out of it maybe.

pleco 2.jpg

**mizzoutank** · 02-12-2013, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by 850R

My money is on 'still adjusting to his new place' & yeah, They do lay around alot. I would give him some time to settle in, I throw wafers in for my plecs after lights out btw.

Do keep an eye on those parameters though.

He's acting normal to me.
Pleco's aren't your super active fish. Try to google various sites on their behavior to adjust your expectations for this fella.
Pleco's are great fish, fun to watch and nibble on various things, but by all means they aren't like tetra's that zip all over the place. their like the lazy cool dog of the fish world.

and another expectation for you:
when you add fish, their colors will always change. stress causes color loss/change.
I recently put a krib in QT, she was near pale for the first few days adjusting and now she's got these awesome burnt orange tips to her fins and is gaining new colors every day.
its just what fish do when they are stressed/adjust.

Just like humans get pale as it get's colder.

**fishn00b** · 02-12-2013, 11:41 PM

Thanks mizzou, you're probably right and he's still just adjusting. This is the biggest fish I have ever had so I am just a little overly nervous. I put a piece of blanched zucchini on a fork in there about 20 min ago, i'll see if he pays any attention. My panda garras seem to have figured it out pretty quick lol, those guys eat everything, they all have huge bellies.

**fishn00b** · 02-13-2013, 10:40 PM

Success! The pleco is really doing a number on the zucchini slice, and his color looks much better today, all is well. Question though: Will they overfeed themselves? Should I take the zucchini away at some point or just make sure it doesn't stay in long enough to show any signs of rot?