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Baby Bristlenose Pleco $6 Each (Was $12) + $14 Express Postage ($0 SYD C&C) @ Sydney Aquascapes

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We got a bunch of bristlenose breeding in our tank, so grab some babies at a discount while they last!

These are one of the best choice for algae eaters in the hobby, the only thing to keep in mind is that they grow very big! If you get them in a smaller tank make sure you donate them or upgrade your tank as they grow, and although will demolish your algae, you will need to make sure they get enough food with supplemental algae wafers especially after your tank is all cleaned up already.

  • Easy to keep Peaceful fish.
  • Current size = 2cm. Adult size = ~30cm in length.
  • Herbivore. Requires algae wafers or blanched vegetables.
    The Bristlenose Pleco is a small, peaceful, and hardy freshwater catfish species, recognized for their unique appearance with bristle-like growths on their heads. They are compatible with most other freshwater fish.

Though typically mottled brown or black-and-grey spotted in color, other species are more exotic – spots of bright yellow on a dark background being the pattern of the this one. They do well in tanks with ample hiding spots and driftwood, as they enjoy grazing on algae. It's essential to maintain a well-kept tank with stable water parameters (pH 6.5-7.5, temperature 23-27°C) and offer a diverse diet of algae wafers, blanched vegetables, and occasional protein-rich foods. Regular water changes are vital to keeping the water quality high, and providing driftwood in the tank helps them feel secure. They reach up to 40 cm in males and 30 cm in females.

They will eat algae growing in the tank, however, do need a supplement of wafers or other food.

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Comments

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  • I’ve had couple bristlenose babys but for some reason they keep dying off. Gave it food,plenty of hiding spaces but no luck

    • Is your tank heavily planted? And what food are you giving them?

      • No, gave them algae wafers

        • Ours is super dense with Subwassertang moss, with a canister filter in a 90L tank and plenty of caves and decoration in there. Lots and lots of moss worked well for us, we also just fed different wafers, mostly the really good quality ones though.

    • I would suspect that your tank parameters are off, especially as you haven't mentioned doing any testing. You have to cycle the tank for a couple of weeks first. Also, ignore the sales rep you should look into a dense gel food like AquaMunch AquaGel or a zero-filler sinking option like NorthFin Kelp Wafers, which will give them the right plant-based nutrients without polluting the water with cheap wheat binders which the sales rep is trying to sell you. Also drift wood is important for plecos too.

      • I'm not sure what you mean with the wafers, you are 100% correct most have a lot of fillers and aren't that good like these ones

        But the ones listed above are New Life Spectrum, they are a top quality American brand, comparable to the ones you mentioned.
        Check https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2HNoxIuuIU&t=43s
        Or type into any AI it gives you "… are considered a premium, high-quality fish food. They stand out from standard commercial algae wafers by prioritizing diverse aquatic vegetation and quality marine proteins over cheap fillers like grain binders." with multiple sources.

        New Life IS the high quality brand?

        • New Life Spectrum is just okay. The old ranking site, oscarfish.com, gave it 4 stars, so it’s decent, but definitely not the best out there. Northfin was the only to receive a six.

      • I have 1 drift wood. It has babys 2-3 times already and they all always die off ;(

        I don’t do water test tbh

        • Then testimg the water is the first step to working out why you're fish are dying.

          Now you don't have to buy a testing kit you can bring in samples to your local pet shop.

          Did you cycle the tank for eight weeks? If not your fish are most likely dying to new tank syndrome.

          For care on plecos one of the best sites for species profiles is. Sadly, it's now full of ads.

          Also just be aware that bristle noise are also known to play dead.

  • I bought one a while ago but it died off. I'm in Melbourne where the weather is typically a bit lower (tank temperature right now is 18). I noticed your parameters say 23-27, so in that case, I'm expecting it'll need to go into a heated tank?

    • Yes, you absolutely need a heated tank for these in Melbourne.

    • Yes, they are tropical and although when larger can survive colder temperatures temporarily, I would not recommend it. Definitely try keep it over 22 at a minimum.

  • getting a fish in the post is crazy. we really are living in the future

    • American has been doing this for many years, even with marine fish. Indeed crazy.

    • getting a fish in the post is crazy cruel

      FTFY

    • I'd like to ask:… How do you think the shop gets their fish?

      We ship express post next day delivery, with heat pads in winter in breather bags and plenty of water. Unless the parcel gets lost (which is rare) there usually are no issues. So little issues we guarantee all DOA, any issues with your fish due to delivery we will replace or refund them.

      • any issues with your fish due to delivery we will replace or refund them.

        Doesn't help the fish, does it.

        • Of course not, but unless you are vegan your food causes more animal deaths than our whole business does. If you are, then good on you you're one of the few people who actually sacrifice something to reduce animal deaths, if not then I'm not sure where your high horse came from.

          We are financially incentivised to create as little suffering and death for our fish as possible. Believe me we take every reasonable precaution to keep them safe and happy on the way to their new homes.

          Unlike many places we try to educate our customers how best to take care of their fish, and include such info in each of our parcels as well. Picking them up at the shop itself isn't significantly safer then receiving them in the post, its very much a non-issue compared to other stages in the fish-to-tank process we try to maximise health and survival. Unless you don't think aquariums should exist at all its a strange hill to die on…

          • @Brandingo:

            but unless you are vegan

            I'm ethically okay with an animal dyeing for a purpose, so long as it's done humanely. That's nature.

            I'm not okay with a pet fish dying in the back of a post truck because the delivery was delayed when it was completely unnecessary for it to be sent via the post, besides so some business can expand their customer base.

            To use your analogy, I wouldn't be okay if Steagles started sending chickens in QLD to the slaughter house in Tasmania via the post with 'some' dying a slow death of heat exhaustion in the back of a post truck.

            • @PainToad: That's a very interesting.
              So, you are fine with:
              A chicken being hatched, transported to a rearing farm, transported again to an egg farm, spending around a year and a half producing eggs before being removed and sent away for processing - and who knows the life a factory pig goes through,
              So you can have your bacon and eggs in the morning.

              And you are fine with:
              a fish being bread and raised in Indonesia, Transported in a plane to a distributor in crowded bags, left in quarantine, transported in a truck to whole-sellers, transported in another truck overnight from distribution to your local pet store. And picked up by a new owner to care for the next few years of its lifespan.

              But you are NOT fine with that pet being transported individually in its own bag through the same truck it was sent 3-5 times in its life already because the pet store doesn't need to "expand its customer base"?

              Love that performative empathy. ;D

              • @Brandingo:

                A chicken being hatched, transported to a rearing farm, transported again to an egg farm, spending around a year and a half producing eggs before being removed and sent away for processing

                Transport happens by an actual livestock company, not Postman Pat who doesn’t even know he has a living creature in the back of his truck.

                a fish being bread and raised in Indonesia, Transported in a plane to a distributor in crowded bags, left in quarantine, transported in a truck to whole-sellers, transported in another truck overnight from distribution to your local pet store.

                Nope. Not okay with any of that. Thanks for letting us know you’re not sourcing your fish from Australian pet fish farms. Another reason to avoid your business.

      • Honest answer? I thought there must have been a courier service of sorts that caters for that kind of thing

        To clarify I was not having a dig at you

        • Oh no you're all good haha ;D

          You can go by courier, but in our experience, for the price AUS Post Express is just the most reliable. Courier usually costs 5x the cost of the fish, so often just isn't realistic unfortunately.

  • Hey OP, genuinely curious about how you post these? Could you share some insight?

    • We ship express post next day delivery, with heat pads in winter and in breather bags and plenty of water. Unless the parcel gets lost (which is rare) there usually are no issues. So little issues we guarantee all DOA, any issues with your fish due to delivery we will replace or refund them.

      Posting fish is of course risky, but its actually much less risky than introducing them into your tank in the first place. Make sure you acclimate carefully! And especially if you have valuable or sentimental fish always quarantine before adding new fish into your tank.

  • we call this fish the rubbish collector

    • Very much so! But do make sure you feed it enough as well, it usually will not get enough food from just your tank.

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