Loaches Online Forum

My bristlenoses (BN) started breeding about 3 years ago, and I have had a steady stream of fry. I have about 6 varieties of BN, and they are one of my favorite fish. Useful, pretty, Interesting, and easy to keep -- a perfect fish.

Luckily as long as you feed the fry and change the water, they are pretty easy to grow out.

I usually feed my fry what I feed the parents: Hikari Algae Wafers, Repashy Scavenger and Aufwucks diets, algae flakes and zucchini. The especially love the Repashy diets and grow rapidly.

Recently I acquired 4 adorable blue eyed albino Bristlenoses. They were tiny -- about 3/4" long. They are now up to 1.25" and have little brown bellys like my other well fed BN babies.

Unfortanately, I can not figure out what the fry are eating. They are growing, but all the food is molding at the bottom of the tank and I never see them eating the food and their tank is next to my bed. Right now they live in a small tank with driftwood, tube, gravel, a little bit of Almond Leaves, sponge filter, . . . I see the fry actively munching on the glass, gravel, almond leaves and wood.

I do not believe that I am overfeeding. I give them 1/2 Hikari Wafer or a 1/4" cube of Repashy, . . . but I only find these food moldy in the tank. I do change the water regularly.

I plan to move them to a tank with Panda Garras, guppies and Bamboo shrimp, so the others can clean up after the BN. All these fish are used to BN fry since I grow them out in this tank regularly.

I need to know:
1.) What else could I feed these fish?
2.) What else are they eating? They are growing and appear healthy.

try feeding them some spinach, i have heard that they normally love it. if they can not actually eat it then boil it for a minute or 2 to soften it up.
they are probably eating algea and rasping lots on the drify wood.
if they are growing and healthy then i think you are doing good. the blue eyed plecs aren't wild are they. my advice to you is feed before you go to bed or around 10/11pm and turn of the tank lights and leave the room lights on for a lttle bit and just watch. if the food is still there in the morning then siphon it out.
good luck,

Thanks FF.

I just worry they are not getting enough to eat. They ar enot wild, tank born, just now my tank.

I caught one eating zucchini the other day. I do think they rasp the wood and on biofilm. Just doesn't seem like it's enough to support growing bodies.

also try using a commercial algae waffer, but, only one, they may actually like it. if you have a chance ask the lfs owner what he was feeding them. they may have gotton used to it and don't really know that the zucchini is a food.

I had tried them with hikariwafers. All my BN love them, and the blue eyes are not interested.

All my BN have their diet supplemented with zucchini and love it. I caught these guys eating it.
It just doesn't seem like they eat enough of it.

They are still growing. I just don't get it.

well, if they are growing and seem happy then just keep doing what you are doing, is all i can say. bad idea to fix something that is not broken, lol. is there a certain spot they like to hide?

Normally I don't worry so much, but these are my blue eyed fry, and I only have four. I want them to become adults so hopefully I can breed them.

My biggest worry is if I can not get them onto commercial food, how will I continue to feed them when they are larger and can't subsist on biofilm.

Ha! Caught the little buggers eating the Hikari wafer last night.

I also added about 7 amazing blue Pearl shrimp. They are blue! Really, really blue and there are a few berried females. The shrimp are cleaning up after the BN, so now I am not too worried.

I also acquired an adult male blue eyed albino male from a friend. I put him with two of my girls, who were immediately quite taken with him. Cross my fingers to have more blue eyes soon.

good to know what they are eating! the blue shrimp- are they shrimp or crayfish. i think that the adults will eat them, unless, the shrimp are in the juvi tank.

I am so happy to see them eat. Good thing.

These are shrimp. I think they are a color morph of the red cherry shrimp.

They look like this But mine are much bluer!: http://www.planetinverts.com/Blue%20Pearl%20Shrimp.html

I keep BN and dwarf shrimp togehter. They breed and grow up together nicely.