FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Was at one of my LFS's on the weekend and saw a couple of male BN's for sale which were marked XL. They were at least 7" long and about 2.5" wide. Cosidering all the BN's I have seen for sale recently are no bigger than 1.5-2" - I was wondering how old these XL ones would have been. Does anyone know what the normal lifespan of a BN is?

Considering the fact that plecos grow incredibly fast, I would think those guys you saw were probably no more than 2 years old, possibly 3. Probably breeding stock that has gotten too old for the commercial breeder.
The Average pleco with likely live 15-20 years, possibly longer. I would assume bristlenose are no different.
I think the oldest pleco lived to be well into its 30's I heard. You have nothing to fear of losing a pleco like that for at least 10 years.

Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Well, Ancistrus plecos actually tend to be slow growers. Take my A. triradiatus, for example. I've had the little lug for 5 or 6 months now, and he has grown from 3 3/4 inches to a whopping 4 inches. For those who failed math repeatedly, that's 1/4 of an inch in 5-6 months. Wow. So, my guess is that the fish is at least four years old, probably more towards five or six.
There are bristlenose breeders on this site, they would be able to provide a more accurate estimate. For the time being, you can assume that your fish is around half a decade old.

Welcome to Fish Profiles, by the way.

Last edited by sirbooks at 17-Apr-2005 21:15

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Thanks Guys. I wasn't aware they could grow that fast.

I would be very much surprised if they were indeed 7” long, barring of course, the ranunculid subgenus. If your BNs in question looks like this: [link=http:// www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1169]http:// www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1169[/link], then they are nearing the end of their growing age, and probably around 4-5 years old, likely more. A full grown A. punctatus takes around five years to reach maturity, IME.

My BN grew from 1.5 inches to 4 inches in about 6 months.
I consider this to be very fast growth myself.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

My BN grew from like, 1 1/2" to 2 or 2 1/2" in the six months I had him. I think the speed of growth varies greatly.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

My bristle nose grew from about 1 3/4" to about 3" in about 6 months. So that is 1 1/4"!!!!! Pretty big!

Mine grew well, maybe an inch in 3-4 months..but the real growth is in his belly and bristles..What a pig...and his bristles are very large! Largest I have seen for quite some time!