Juvenile Albino Ancistrus sp.

[Seedy]

:) This guy is the best lil algea eater I have ever had....he eats brown algea (diatoms), string algea, fuzzy green algea....whatever, he loves it... He's grown at least an inch + since I got him (he was a teeny tiny lil thing) He's only about 2.5 or so inches so he still has an inch or two left to grow...

I'm not sure of this fish's sex, I have heard from some that the females get "bushier" and from others that it is the males that have the big bristles....Does any one know? And about how big will he be before I really start noticing his bristles?

http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2004-08-24/64060-001.jpg
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2004-08-24/64060-002.jpg
http://www.cichlidforums.com/postimages/2004-08-24/64060-003.jpg

[punkypuffer]

looks to be a female to me

[Seedy]

Ok, how can you tell Punky?

[Jason_S]

I'd say it's too young to tell. I had a male brown bristlenose that didn't grow bristles until he was easily 3.5 to 4" though I think this guy was a late bloomer. :)

I also have several juvie albino bristlenose and I only have 1 even starting to show any signs of bristles and he's about 2.5" or so. I recently heard that females are usually wider and have only nubs for bristles or none at all, and that males are thinner and have much bigger, bushier bristles. I'm not sure about the body shapes but I am pretty sure only the males will grow very noticeable bristles. :)

[cathyhill]

Seedy,

My bristlenoses have just recently started developing bristles on the nose and they are about 3.25 to 3.5 inches. I have 3 males and 1 female. The female bristlenose has no bristles.

A good way to tell who's who - the males will develop some bristles on the bridge of the nose but the females won't.

I'd also say that you are going to have to wait till he/she grows a little more to make a definite distinction.

[Seedy]

Thank you all....I think I may have a male as i am seeing the first bit on "nubs" all ready....time will tell....TY

[barramundi]

Sounds like Cathy's answered for you, but just as confirmation. I breed Bristlenose & have a fair bit of experience with them. Firstly your little guy's too small to know for sure yet, usually 3" plus is when you can really tell. Females will never have bristles on the bridge of their nose as Cathy said. They do sometimes grow nibs along their top lip but it's rare, usually they don't have any at all. The theory is the males use their bristles to test water flow & temperature etc as the male is the primary care giver to the eggs & fry & fans them constantly to prevent mould etc. But males will always develop bushy bristles on his lip & bridge. Re body shape, females can tend to be plumper, but it's a marginal difference that's very hard to be sure if they're well fed healthy specimens. My males are fat & healthy so they're not that different to the females. By the time body shape does show, the bristle count will tell you for sure anyway! If your guy has nibs starting then it'd be a safe prediction it's a boy, but you won't know for certain for a bit longer. HTH mate.:ok:

[cathyhill]

Hey barramundi,

One of my males has his head and upper body in a shell with his tail sticking out and is fanning the opening with his bottom fins. It looks so funny but I guess he is trying to attract a mate this way? Either that or he is practicing his parenting skills for future use (A trial run):rofl:

[barramundi]

Yeah, he's nesting! That's classic behaviour!!! Give him a girl & he'll chase her around till she comes to his shell & then 3-4 weeks later you'll have a tank full of micro bristlenose!!!:ok:

[lighter]

I agree it looks like a female. The males are a lot more bushier!!

[Seedy]

OUCH!!!!
I learned something about these fish's defense mechanisms this week....I was moving my adult male bristle nose to a different tank, and like I do with most of my plecos I was using my hand and a net...I knew to watch out for the obviose spines, but these fish have some spines HIDDEN behind their operculum...and I learned that they have the ability force them out VERY HARD....I pierced my skin in about 6 or seven small places, and felt like a toxic sting, as my hand continued to burn for an hour or three afterwards.....