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Hiya,<br><br>I've had 2 bristlenose catfish in different tanks for about 3 years now and they have gotten to be about 8cm (4"?) in length<br><br>anyways, I feed them algae wafers but often wonder how often I should feed them!<br><br>I've also looked at the profile for them but it does not mention lifespan - any ideas?<br><br>thanks!

janenenc

I have no idea how many BN in my tank minimum 10. They get a good mix of different foods fruit, vegs, etc plus frozen blood worms as well as 5 Algea wafers every morning.
Yes there are other fish in the tank.
Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info


Keith

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Don't know about Bristlenose lifespan, but if it's similar to Otocinclus then they could live 10 years. One of my Otocinclus lived over 9 years : December 12th, 1994 to March 12th, 2004. Add the time it spent alive before it arrived in my aquarium, and 10 years is a possibility.

Since Bristlenoses are bigger, I'd suggest that 10 years may be a baseline figure. A good number of South American Catfishes have long lives. Corydoras can hit 15 years with ease, and the record is currently held by a Bronze Cory cited in the Lambourne book on the Genus that reached 34 years of age.

You could be looking after your Bristlenoses for over a decade. Quite a thought that, isn't it!



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

They should each get an algae wafer a day, providing they eat it all up. Also consider mixing in vegetables like cucumber and zucchini, that will really make them happy.

These catfish are pretty long-lived, and can outlast many cats and dogs! I think the average BN will live from thirteen to fifteen years, while the occasional specimen will top twenty. These fish are pretty tough, so they often will live out their full lifespan in a tank, given they aren't exposed to horrible conditions or a life-ending trauma.

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thanks people,

They do get zucchini occasionally and both have driftwood (which one lives in - the other prefers the inside of a terracotta car). One is female and one is male but when I had to put them in the same tank whil one was treated the smaller male took over the females car and kicked her out. (even though I especually added extra hiding places for him)

I've been feeding the wafers every few days but I may break them in half and feed daily now

I feed mine wafers daily, fresh veggies once or twice a week.

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