The bristlenose pleco (Ancistrus cirrhosus), also known as the bushynose pleco, has a wide distribution throughout the Amazon river basin in South America. It can be found in a variety of habitats, from shallow low oxygen floodplains, to the deep, dark waters of rivers. There are several commercially available species, but Ancistrus cirrhosus is the most common.
Bristlenose plecos are commonly known as suckerfish, and make an excellent addition to most freshwater aquariums. They are arguably the best algae eaters available – both because of the large amount of algae that they consume and their hardy, easy to care for nature.
While the common pleco can grow to the size of a river monster in a tropical aquarium, bristlenose plecos stay quite a bit smaller, and usually top out at around 6 inches. Because of this, they are a far better choice than the common pleco if you are looking for an algae eating fish.
Bristlenose plecos need a spacious tank with strong filtration. The reasons for this are simple – they need space, and they tend to be prolific poopers. Much of their life seems to consist of searching for food, eating the food, and then searching for more. Because of this, they are prodigious poop producers, and if the water isn’t well filtered, the water quality will quickly plummet.
In the wild, adult bristlenose plecos tend to hide in caves and under driftwood when they aren’t foraging and should be provided with similar hiding places in the aquarium. This can be as simple as providing a clay pot on its side, or you can provide large pieces of driftwood with overhangs that a bristlenose pleco can hide under.
When choosing a filter for them, a HOB (hang-on-back) filter is the most economical choice, and in combination with a sponge filter, it will keep the water sparkling clean . However, if you have a bit more money to spend, a canister filter is usually the best choice for most tropical aquariums.
I would strongly recommend choosing an Aquaclear Power Filter for a bristlenose pleco tank. This filter combines excellent filtration with a durable design, and it will keep your tank sparkling clear for years to come. You can also read the Aquarium Tidings Aquaclear Filter Review here.
Like previously stated, bristlenose plecos love to eat and you can provide them with a wide range of food. Their main diet should be composed of a spirulina based sinking pellet, since they tend to mainly eat on the bottom of the tank. This should be supplemented with vegetables, as they need a large amount of plant matter in their diet. A hungry bristlenose pleco will completely devour every last piece of blanched zucchini, cucumber medallions and shelled peas. They also appreciate broccoli and a wide range of other vegetables. Always remember to remove any uneaten vegetables after 24 hours to prevent water fouling.
If you are hoping to get a bristlenose pleco into breeding condition, they should be fed live or frozen foods. Their particular favorites are bloodworms and live blackworms, and they tend to ignore most other frozen and live foods. The key is to ensure that the food reaches the bottom of the aquarium, or they most likely won’t even notice it.
One thing to remember with bristlenose plecos, is that they require fiber in their diet- especially if they are consistently fed regular fish food. Some fiber can be provided through vegetables, but unless you are careful to consistently feed vegetables, they generally won’t have enough fiber in their diet to remain healthy.
There is a simple solution to providing enough fiber – just include a piece of driftwood in their tank. Nearly all species of plecos will rasp on any driftwood in their tanks, which provide them with more than enough fiber to help them stay healthy and active.
Bristlenose plecos are easy to breed and only usually have to be provided with a cave to spawn in – the rest they do on their own. You should always try to have more females than males, unless you have a very large tank. The males are incredibly territorial and will quickly claim a cave for breeding purposes. Any other males will then fight the male for control of the cave and given the opportunity, will indulge in quick meal of caviar (they will eat their male rival eggs).
When preparing to breed bristlenose plecos, you first need to determine if you have at least one male and female. You can determine the sex of them by simply looking at the “bristles” on their heads. Males will usually have larger bristles and they will extend to the middle of its head. Females will only have bristles around their mouth, and they tend to be much smaller than the males.
When the male is ready to breed, it will begin to excavate a cave (clay pot or overhang), and will clean off the surfaces of it in preparation for eggs. Once the male is done, he will settle in to his newly claimed cave, and wait for a female. Once a female comes by, she will inspect the cave and if suitably impressed, will decide to move into the cave and deposit her eggs.
Once the eggs have been deposited on the walls of the cave and fertilized by the male, he will push the female out the cave, and begin to guard the eggs. During this time, other females may be enticed into the cave, and the male may end up fertilizing the eggs from several different females.
The eggs will then hatch after around 4-10 days and the fry will cling to the sides of the cave until they have completely absorbed the egg sacks. During this time, the male will continue to guard the fry until they are free swimming on their own.
The fry can be feed with infusoria or powdered spirulina. After a few days they can be fed baby brine shrimp and they will also eat any available algae.
Pleco or Plecostomus?
If you are new to the hobby, you will only ever rarely hear “plecos” referred to as a plecostomus. There is a simple reason for this – it’s considered bad luck to refer to plecos by their full name. There is a belief among some in the fish keeping hobby, that if you use the full name, you will soon have a dead pleco. (I will update this page if I suffer any devastating pleco losses after daring to say plecostomus in this article.)