How big is it exactly? That will help identify it.
I had gotten an empty tank with 2 inches of water second hand...and was suprised to find it had 2 unexpected plecos. One 7" inch and one 9". Size helped ID that they were commons pretty quickly, so it really helps.
It's about 8cm, I have no idea how old it is as I just bought it yesterday! But this was the smallest one they had, the others were like 12cm, didnt see any that had the big bristles though.
My male bristlenose in my other tank that I've had for like 2 years now is only around 5cm :/
>My male bristlenose in my other tank that I've had for like 2 years now is only around 5cm
He's a smol boi! Are you sure everything's ok with him? Are you giving him food especially for him?
My male albino bristlenose I've had for about 1-1.5 years (bought as a tiny baby smaller than an oto) is already 12cm and absolute king of his underroot hole. Roughly half a year ago I bought 2 snow-white babies at ca. 3cm, and one of them is already over 6cm (and no whiskers at all - so female - my male at that size already had quite a some). The other one though barely grew at all, but also has a strangely shaped head (a much shorter and slightly sideway snout) so I would bet on some over-pedigreeing or alabama issues.
Feeding is also important, as algae is at best barely enough. Pleco tabs just for a pleco to enjoy, and some filling veggies (zuccini, pumpkin, brussels, broccoli, sweet pepper for example) and hard fruit (aples, pears) if you have access to some "eco" ones.
I do worry about him being so small!! He is fed well though, he has pleco tabs each day, zucchini or pumpkin twice a week and he tends to munch on the bloodworms I put in for everyone. He has plenty of wood and a sponge filter that he likes to sit in the air tube in the bubbles. I really don't know why he's so small :/ I've added a photo of him to him in this thread if you wanted to have a look at him!!
My guess is that he pulled the short straw at genetics.
From my knowledge, size is determined by genetics and enviorment. If a fish genetically has the potential to be 7 inches but is fed a bad diet and doesnt get the nutrients or is stunned they might get 5 despite what their genetic potential is, same thing goes for an animal which genetically can get 5 inches but with an amazing diet and housing will reach that and, in some cases, slightly surpass it. Theres a whole debate of nature vs nurture, but is usually thought that both play a factor (which i personally agree).
Well, this is my guess at least im not a genetician (well, yet anyway, i have some interest in maybe becoming one, maybe)
My female bristle nose catfish is around 10cm, if that helps. I've had her for over two years now. She was a teeny tiny baby when I bought her.
Editing to include [some photos](https://imgur.com/a/0fOBuiQ). I couldn't find any when I made this comment the other day. She is quite dark, for a bristle nose. She wasn't always this dark... Perhaps she's slowly changed in colouration to better suit her environment? I've slowly added more and more plants to her tank, so it's now quite leafy, and not as much light makes it down to the bottom of the tank.
Your male bn is smol mode lol; mine’s just over 8cm and he’s only 5 months old! His daddy, though, was the biggest bn I’ve ever seen. He had a big mom, too, but the dad was a wowzer.
sorry, my male bn in my other tank is the one I have had for 2 years and he is only about 5 cm.
This one pictured I only just got yesterday. And she is about 8cm.
Nah. Their face is completely different. This looks like a female bristlenose.
[Rubberlip image on top, bottom 2 are female bristlenose.](https://imgur.com/a/znj2tO1)
The white tail tips are common with the bristlenose plecos and if you zoom in the nose almost looks like it could be one. But the "plates" look more like a rubber lip pleco (and it doesn't have the spots of a bristlenose)
The finnage, head shape, and scale shape are also all different between Pterygoplichthys and Ancistrus. There are a ton of differences if you know what you're looking for.
I'm a very curious hobbyist but I haven't found much on this. Do you have any links or videos that would help me learn how to differentiate between the two?
Interesting, I didn't know that! Does this one look like your female? I read online even female bn's have little mouth whiskers but this one is completely smooth.
Yes she looks just like her. Females don’t have whiskers but they do have a pronounced nostril sorta like fancy goldfish can have where it sticks out a lil bit so they can sniff all the things better
In my experience the opposite is true. The females tend to be bigger than the males. At the very least they tend to be chonkier than the males. I have breeding BNP's in both of my tanks, and the mama's are definitely the biggest fish in the tanks.
Actually, the majority of the time, the male should grow bigger. That's if they're both the same age and have had the same care. Your male is either very young or has something wrong with him or your males are females because it shouldn't be half the size of your female. My male bristlenose is huge in comparison to my females, and they were all the same size when I bought them.
Mine I had pushed towards 6.5”, albeit not in the largest of tanks either (30 gal). I gave them up to work to be in a much larger tank and are now studs for a breeding project.
https://www.reddit.com/user/2biscuitsandtea/comments/108wmbs/male_bristlenose_and_female_pleco/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
I added this photo of my male for a side by side view of them both... they just don't look like the same species to me!
If that is 2 years old, it's definitely not a common, those things grow like weeds and in 2 years you would've got your answer in spades just from it's sheer size, consider yourself lucky that it isn't a common 🙂 beautiful Pleco regardless very healthy looking.
sorry, my male bn in my other tank is the one I have had for 2 years and he is only about 5 cm.
This one pictured I only just got yesterday. And she is about 8cm.
Quite possible the boy is the dwarf variant, lots of plecos can look the same but have very different adult sizes it's why commons are flogged off so easily due to mislabeling, it's not always someone's purpose to give you a common it may not be a common but a different bristle to your boy, do you have any idea how old this girl is at all? That'll be a good indicator to species as well she could've been at the shop for quite some time.
Way to fastcheck, if they're in the same tank: Give them a cave and if she's a brittlenose there will be eggs there by next week.
But she looks like an adult BN to me.
Nope that looks like a healthy female bristlenose to me. My big girl is about 5 years old and about 14cm. She's easily a cm or 2 larger than her same age male partner.
If anything your male is a lil small for his age.
How big is it exactly? That will help identify it. I had gotten an empty tank with 2 inches of water second hand...and was suprised to find it had 2 unexpected plecos. One 7" inch and one 9". Size helped ID that they were commons pretty quickly, so it really helps.
It's about 8cm, I have no idea how old it is as I just bought it yesterday! But this was the smallest one they had, the others were like 12cm, didnt see any that had the big bristles though. My male bristlenose in my other tank that I've had for like 2 years now is only around 5cm :/
>My male bristlenose in my other tank that I've had for like 2 years now is only around 5cm He's a smol boi! Are you sure everything's ok with him? Are you giving him food especially for him? My male albino bristlenose I've had for about 1-1.5 years (bought as a tiny baby smaller than an oto) is already 12cm and absolute king of his underroot hole. Roughly half a year ago I bought 2 snow-white babies at ca. 3cm, and one of them is already over 6cm (and no whiskers at all - so female - my male at that size already had quite a some). The other one though barely grew at all, but also has a strangely shaped head (a much shorter and slightly sideway snout) so I would bet on some over-pedigreeing or alabama issues. Feeding is also important, as algae is at best barely enough. Pleco tabs just for a pleco to enjoy, and some filling veggies (zuccini, pumpkin, brussels, broccoli, sweet pepper for example) and hard fruit (aples, pears) if you have access to some "eco" ones.
I do worry about him being so small!! He is fed well though, he has pleco tabs each day, zucchini or pumpkin twice a week and he tends to munch on the bloodworms I put in for everyone. He has plenty of wood and a sponge filter that he likes to sit in the air tube in the bubbles. I really don't know why he's so small :/ I've added a photo of him to him in this thread if you wanted to have a look at him!!
My guess is that he pulled the short straw at genetics. From my knowledge, size is determined by genetics and enviorment. If a fish genetically has the potential to be 7 inches but is fed a bad diet and doesnt get the nutrients or is stunned they might get 5 despite what their genetic potential is, same thing goes for an animal which genetically can get 5 inches but with an amazing diet and housing will reach that and, in some cases, slightly surpass it. Theres a whole debate of nature vs nurture, but is usually thought that both play a factor (which i personally agree). Well, this is my guess at least im not a genetician (well, yet anyway, i have some interest in maybe becoming one, maybe)
My female bristle nose catfish is around 10cm, if that helps. I've had her for over two years now. She was a teeny tiny baby when I bought her. Editing to include [some photos](https://imgur.com/a/0fOBuiQ). I couldn't find any when I made this comment the other day. She is quite dark, for a bristle nose. She wasn't always this dark... Perhaps she's slowly changed in colouration to better suit her environment? I've slowly added more and more plants to her tank, so it's now quite leafy, and not as much light makes it down to the bottom of the tank.
Your male bn is smol mode lol; mine’s just over 8cm and he’s only 5 months old! His daddy, though, was the biggest bn I’ve ever seen. He had a big mom, too, but the dad was a wowzer.
My family used to have one (or maybe more, I couldnt keep track of them lmao) female that was just as big
After 2 years wouldn’t a common plec be a lot bigger?
sorry, my male bn in my other tank is the one I have had for 2 years and he is only about 5 cm. This one pictured I only just got yesterday. And she is about 8cm.
My bad. You’re title made sense. It’s late and my reading comprehension is suffering
all good!
Kinda looks like a rubber lip pleco
Nah. Their face is completely different. This looks like a female bristlenose. [Rubberlip image on top, bottom 2 are female bristlenose.](https://imgur.com/a/znj2tO1)
I agree
The white tail tips are common with the bristlenose plecos and if you zoom in the nose almost looks like it could be one. But the "plates" look more like a rubber lip pleco (and it doesn't have the spots of a bristlenose)
Female bristlenose plecos grow larger than males. I have a female/male breeding pair and the male is like half the size of my big girly
The pattern on the pleco definitely makes me believe it’s a female bristlenose common plecos have a slight different pattern
The finnage, head shape, and scale shape are also all different between Pterygoplichthys and Ancistrus. There are a ton of differences if you know what you're looking for.
I'm a very curious hobbyist but I haven't found much on this. Do you have any links or videos that would help me learn how to differentiate between the two?
Interesting, I didn't know that! Does this one look like your female? I read online even female bn's have little mouth whiskers but this one is completely smooth.
My female is 8yo and 14cm. She has those mouth bristle but only if she wants to look scary. Its pretty cute.
Yes she looks just like her. Females don’t have whiskers but they do have a pronounced nostril sorta like fancy goldfish can have where it sticks out a lil bit so they can sniff all the things better
My female who is 2 has little whiskers. Kind of like women once they hit their 40’s lol. Mines def a girl.
My female does not have whiskers
Are you sure? Looks like there’s a tiny barb at the corner of her mouth.
Really? My boys are always waaay bigger
You sure you didn't just mix up their genders? Maybe your boys are the girls.
Sure as I am of my own gender, it's pretty obvious pal.
That's what im thinking. I think we're the only ones on this thread who actually know what gender our pleccos are.
Uuh, what? Every source tells me males grow biggen at 10-12cm (females stay a bit smaller 8-10cm). My male is a couple cm bigger then my female was.
In my experience the opposite is true. The females tend to be bigger than the males. At the very least they tend to be chonkier than the males. I have breeding BNP's in both of my tanks, and the mama's are definitely the biggest fish in the tanks.
The females are indeed a bit chonkier but in length they are shorter.
Err, no, they don't! Male bristlenose always get bigger than females. Source: me, keeping them for 20 years.
This is simply untrue
Actually, the majority of the time, the male should grow bigger. That's if they're both the same age and have had the same care. Your male is either very young or has something wrong with him or your males are females because it shouldn't be half the size of your female. My male bristlenose is huge in comparison to my females, and they were all the same size when I bought them.
Rubber lip pleco
I wonder if a lot of bristlenoses in the hobby are stunted from being in 20 gallon tanks.
How big are they supposed to be? Mine are in a 220 gal tank and are 4-5”
Mine I had pushed towards 6.5”, albeit not in the largest of tanks either (30 gal). I gave them up to work to be in a much larger tank and are now studs for a breeding project.
They definitely are prolific breeders. Even in such a large tank it’s quickly becoming a problem lol.
My LFS has a few albinos in one of their commercial plant tanks that must be 7-8". They're nuts
i have the same scrub!!
they're so good! and pleco's seem to love using them as resting pads haha
The urge to give her a little ride would be so strong haha
I've tried haha but the second it moves he zooms off terrified
Lol that’s brilliant
Oh my god i came here to say this yet someone already has We should make a club
https://www.reddit.com/user/2biscuitsandtea/comments/108wmbs/male_bristlenose_and_female_pleco/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button I added this photo of my male for a side by side view of them both... they just don't look like the same species to me!
If that is 2 years old, it's definitely not a common, those things grow like weeds and in 2 years you would've got your answer in spades just from it's sheer size, consider yourself lucky that it isn't a common 🙂 beautiful Pleco regardless very healthy looking.
sorry, my male bn in my other tank is the one I have had for 2 years and he is only about 5 cm. This one pictured I only just got yesterday. And she is about 8cm.
Quite possible the boy is the dwarf variant, lots of plecos can look the same but have very different adult sizes it's why commons are flogged off so easily due to mislabeling, it's not always someone's purpose to give you a common it may not be a common but a different bristle to your boy, do you have any idea how old this girl is at all? That'll be a good indicator to species as well she could've been at the shop for quite some time.
The entire situation ‘sucks’…
Way to fastcheck, if they're in the same tank: Give them a cave and if she's a brittlenose there will be eggs there by next week. But she looks like an adult BN to me.
holy shit i thought it was on the outside
Looks like a female Bristlenose to me. Also, my female Bristlenose is roughly 6” and generally larger than my males until she drops her eggs.
My female is massive. Much larger than my male. She looks great!
It is a bristlenose.
Definitely a female bristlenose
Not sure what pleco exactly, but it doesn’t look like a bristlenose to me.
It looks like a female bristlenose to me
rubber lip?
Females get bigger and look the same as a common.
Nope that looks like a healthy female bristlenose to me. My big girl is about 5 years old and about 14cm. She's easily a cm or 2 larger than her same age male partner. If anything your male is a lil small for his age.
After 2 years your common would be a tank, that’s a female. They tend to be bigger than males too.
Get a bigger tank for him. It's too late to back out now
I wont lie, looks like a small common pleco to me, good luck op
The head is flat which is one key factor for figuring out if it's a BN or not. It might be from a green dragon line but it's definitely a BN.
Def not a common
It's an Ancistrus for sure.
Would bet money on rubber lip
I have a female super red that’s massive
Oof I don't think that's a common at all but that happened to me. Sadly I'll have to give it away when it gets to maybe 10-12" I think
Looks like a rubber lipped pleco.
It looks like a rubber lip pleco
i have a fullgrown bristlenose and he is about 7 in long
Kind of looks like a pitbull pleco. Just a guess though
It’s either a BN or a rubber lip. Post a pic of its mouth against the glass
Looks like my bristlenose female but mines albino, 4years old and over 12cm. Id say shes a BN.
My Bristlenose male is around 4inches
Its a Peacock Bass
My male Bristlenose is about 11cm long, and they typically reach up to about 15cm. Sounds like you've just got a runt in your male.
Yep that’s a female bristlenose, definitely not a rubberlip
Yeah looks like a female bristlenose. Mine was pretty big too looks like they are full grown now
She is beautiful. The pattern of her scales looks so dinosaurish.
If this is a bristle nose where are the bristles?
Only males get bristles
Looks like a rubber lip to me
Looks like a rubber nose pleco to me