Bristlenose eating my swords

[moneymike]

Hello all,
After many attempts to grow Amazons, Brazilians, and an Ozelot sword, I have concluded that it isn't working. The leaves are being skeletalized one by one. I don't have the figures on hand for my dkh, but I have the temp at 82F and WPG at 2.5 for my tank. I came across an article that said Bristlenose plecos love to eat swords and described the skeletalizing of the plants just so. has anyone else had this problem? I was also told that I need to be feeding the dude some zucchini, that alge wafers weren't enough, but that once they get a taste for swords, it's all over.

I'd hate to trade him in at my LFS, he's a personable little dude. If I have to, what else is there? I've heard good and bad about otto's so I'm hesitant.

[triumph1921]

Hi mate

Althought bristlenose can eat plants and skeletize them.........very rarely have i seen one that actually does it. I have kept bristlenose for very long and have never had any problems. occasionally they will latch on the the swords but no damage is done.

What other fish do u have in the tank? Maybe something else is doing the damage...........Put up a list of all fish and maybe we can identify the one that is most notorious. :lol:

Cheers

[ILLUSN]

bristlenoses will sometimes eat swords, i have one that doies but only if there is algae on the leaves.

to stop him just put some boiled zuchenii in the tank after lights out 2 or 3 times a week, he'll find that much tastier then your swords. remember to take it out come morning so it doesn't cloud your tank.

[moneymike]

Triumph- I only have Discus and my one bristlenose. That's what led me to believe it was him.

ILLUSN- Thanks for the advice, dude. I'll get some zucchini right away. Do you think he'll stop eating the swords altogether after this even though he's already tasted his 'first blood' with them, so to speak? I hope so, I really do want to grow some swords in my tank.

Once it looks a little better I'll post some pics.

Thank you all, and anyone else who might be able to help, it's all much appreciated. I did see this topic posted a little earlier, so I'm not expecting too much more help.

One last thing: Would it be beneficial to have ottos in addition, since my bristlenose seems to have outgrown his taste for algae? Or should I trade him in for a younger one?

[ILLUSN]

i like ottos and i've always had no problems with them, I do however find them hard to keep alive when i'm holidays as they NEED algae for 95% of their diet.

if you put the zucchini in he'll quickly loose his taste for your swords (and just about everything else bar color bits)

[marg]

I put Zucchini in my tank for my Bristlenoses but I don't cook it - I just weigh it down with a heavy butterknife and it sinks to the bottom - I have found that if you put it in raw it doesn't cloud the water and they love it. I have put raw pumpkin in when I have had some left over and had no Zucchini and they chomp that up as well.

Maybe your plants need fertilizing - they could be lacking in something -just a thought.


Hope this helps.

Marg.

[moneymike]

Thanks marg and ILLUSN, I got some zucchini yesterday and will feed it to him tomorrow night. As for fertilizers, I use root tabs and 'Discus Essential' liquid fert for the trace elements.

[JamezMan]

I've had a bristlenose who got into my swords really well, but at the time I wasn't supplementing their diet as often as I probably could of.

Jamez.

[moneymike]

Okay, so it looks like he didn't take to it after the first night. How long did it take some of you for your pleco to start feasting on the zucchini?

[ILLUSN]

couple of goes, you did cut it right? the skin is indigestable to all except the biggest plecos

[moneymike]

Dude, the guy has eaten the things entirely! For the past two nights he has eaten the entire chunk (I cut off the skin). It is a bit larger than a thumbnail, or the size of an American quarter. I took the advice of marg and used raw zuc.

I cut it into sort of an arrowhead shape and stuck it into a lead sinker, the kind shaped like a piece of macaroni.

So how often is the dude going to eat like that? Should I be feeding him decent chunks every single night, or space it out?

[ILLUSN]

A good chunk every second night will be plenty to keep himm off your swords.

fair warning though, hes now useless for algae control.

[moneymike]

That's a bummer. I was just thinking that would be the case. Good thing I got 7 ottos in quarantine.

[moneymike]

But also, his algae eating performance has been pretty lacking since he developed the taste for Amazon sandwiches.

[ILLUSN]

But also, his algae eating performance has been pretty lacking since he developed the taste for Amazon sandwiches.

LOL! thats what i thought, i got a colony of 4 of the lazy buggers, still they look cool :D .

[moneymike]

He does look cool, I only wish he would stop messing up my more delicate grass plants, pushing around my annubias, and uprooting my swords when he tries to burrow.

Are we sure that bristlenoses aren't part of the 'canine' family?

[moneymike]

I'm admitting defeat. My bristlenose eats both the zucchini (big chunks) and still eats the plants. I'm either going to trade him in or put him in a 40 gallon quarantine tank I am starting up.

[marg]

My Bristlenoses must be a bit queer then because I never take the skin off the Zucchini - and it is always their starting point - they nibble the skin off first then when that's gone they get stuck into the rest of it.

I have four really big Males and I have lost count of the females and littlies.

marg.

[moneymike]

Is my bristlenose irregular? He devours a slice of zucchini (approx 1 cm. thick) per night. I was giving him half of that per night, but he would go on to nibble my Brazilian Sword and then start on the Annubias! He's about 5 inches long.