Marble Bristlenose Catfish 4cm

Marble Bristlenose Catfish 

Easily one of the world's most popular catfish species the Bristlenose pleco is an excellent addition to any aquarium. The Bristlenose pleco quickly rose to popularity as it is an excellent algae eater and is regarded as an essential clean-up crew for freshwater tanks. It is also a very peaceful fish that breeds easily and stays at a relatively small size in comparison to other plecos.

Being in the pleco family the Bristlenose are in fact an armoured catfish that have dense bone plating all over their body making them a very difficult fish to be eaten by predators. Bristlenose plecos are naturally a dark brown colour however the marble Bristlenose pleco is a really unique genetic variant, made through selective breeding which throws a marbled colour.

This Bristlenose can range in colour tone but often have a light sandalwood orange undertone with patches of dark brown through them like a common Bristlenose. This light and dark colour really highlights their spots and creates a really nice contrast making them easy to spot in the aquarium. These plecos most likely would never occur in the wild which makes them really unique and would be great to have in a breeding group of Bristlnose plecos or just a unique species in a display aquarium.

Trying to find the males and females in this species is fairly easy. males have a lot of fleshy bristles all over their noses which can look pretty weird but that’s what makes them such a unique species. Females on the other hand lave little to no bristles. Marble Bristlenose Bristlenose though bred in captivity can be fairly shy and naturally the wild colour Bristlenose pleco habitat in South America.

Tank Recommendations for your Bristlenose pleco

The Bristlenose pleco only needs a tank of around 20 gallons (75 litres) as they are a fairly inactive species in terms of not needing a lot of open swimming space. Though species like common plecos can get 60 cm upwards (2 feet) the Bristlenose max out at 15cm. A sand or gravel substrate is perfectly fine but most importantly they will love hiding areas around small pieces of driftwood, rock caves and they will love a densely planted aquarium as well. This species is most active when lights are turned off.

Suitable Tank Buddies

The Bristlenose pleco is extremely peaceful with aggression only ever coming out during breeding males breeding however this is harmless behaviour. With adequate space, these fish will get along with a wide range of community fish.

Usually Compatible

Tetras, gouramis, corydoras, angelfish, barbs dwarf cichlids such as rams and large peaceful cichlids such as uaru or Severums.

Sometime Compatible

Semi aggressive or territorial cichlids like jack Dempseys, fire mouths, convicts cichlids and similar species.

Rarely Compatible 

large aggressive species such as African cichlids, Oscars and Jaguar cichlids. These species may try to eat the Bristlenose pleco which could end in death for both fish. Because of the dense bone and armour plating, the plecos often get lodged in the predator fish’s throat.

Feeding your Marble  Bristlenose Pleco
Bristlenose plecos will easily take to a wide range of food and are arguable one of the easiest fish to feed. The Bristlenose are regarded as ‘wood eaters’ meaning they can easily sustain themselves eating aquarium driftwood. The best type of wood being Malaysian bogwood. They also eat algae and decaying plant matter but will also eat sinking aquarium foods like sinking pleco wafers. This can be supplemented with blanched veggies like zucchini and pumpkin. Feeding should occur once a day and it is best to do so when the lights are off