Bristlenose Plecos

[HarleyK]

Howdy

These bristlenose plecos are fine algae eaters, at least green algae carpets. They are also prolific breeders. All 59 offspring in this photo came out of a 10 gal, and another group of fry are in a cave with the male guarding them. I had to separate the female, I'm running out of tank space...

Highly rewarding to watch them breed, watch the male parent.

HarleyK

 

[Milingu]

Sorry for spoiling the party, but that's not Ancistrus dolichopterus. Yours are just common bristlenose plecos.

 

[HarleyK]

Sorry for spoiling the party, but that's not Ancistrus dolichopterus. Yours are just common bristlenose plecos.

Thanks for clarifying, can you elaborate?
And no worries about spoiling the party, I’m truly happy about fry, that’s all.
The word “just” is not part of my fishkeeping vocabulary

 

[Milingu]

A. dolichopterus also referred to as L183 or starlight pleco is a black fish with tiny white dots and distinctive white seams on dorsal and caudal fin. These white seams often fade over time and are mostly prominent in juvenile specimens. A. dolichopterus growths up to 25 cm / 10" and needs warmer water 26-30°C while the common bristlenose pleco in most cases doesn't grow so large and is fine with a bit lower temperatures.

Unfortunately the common bristlenose pleco, which is a brownish fish with beige or yellow dots and smaller seams in the fins, whose origins are still unclear often gets misslabled as A. dolichopterus. That's why you find a lot of wrong pictures on Google when looking for A. dolichopterus. To increase the confusion A. dolichopterus is also often confused with L181, another black pleco with tiny white dots

Searching for L183 gives more correct pictures of A. dolichopterus.

 

[HarleyK]

Milingu great info, thank you! It looks like we confused these two back in the 80s and I never got it straight afterwards. lol

 

[HarleyK]

And because they are so adorable, here are a few more pictures of the babies, mom, and dad in a cave with the next group of fry

 

[HarleyK]

Milingu - I will edit the title of this thread to reflect today's science.

So, what's today's Latin name or L number for the plecos that spawned in my tank???

Dear other readers, please know that this conversation started because I originally titled the thread "Ancistrus dolichopterus"

 

[Sassafras]

I too was delighted, several years ago, when my Ancistrus first spawned. Like you, I enjoyed watching the action in the spawning cave and the cute little fry. But......after the umpteenth spawning, with hundred of bristlenose flooding my tanks, I had enough! Tank was large and heavily planted so I had to trap them out. Finally got them all, took them and gifted them to the LFS and vowed never to let another common Ancistrus into my aquariums. I have a few Chaetostoma now, who perform the same function but don't flood me with babies. All happy now!

 

[Milingu]

-

 

[Milingu]

Milingu - I will edit the title of this thread to reflect today's science.

So, what's today's Latin name or L number for the plecos that spawned in my tank???

Dear other readers, please know that this conversation started because I originally titled the thread "Ancistrus dolichopterus"

It has none. It never got described and it probably will never be, because nobody knows exactly where it came from and captive strains where mixed several times.

We can only say that it belongs to Ancistrus. The most proper way to address it would probably be Ancistrus sp. "common bristlenose pleco".