# Bristlenose plecos and sword plants



## natebuchholz (Sep 28, 2013)

I think your suspicions are correct.


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## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

Thanks,that is what I suspected. Are there plecos that are safe with swords?


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## THE V (Nov 17, 2011)

BN are the safest with plants of most of the more common plecos. They generally only damage plants if they are a hungry in my experience. Feeding them some veggies and more sinking pellets/algae tabs can help stop this behavior. 

They need to keep their bellies full especially the first year when they grow fast.


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## Virto (Dec 6, 2012)

BNs love to sit on sword plants - they're about the only thing that can potentially hold them up - and they'll rasp them to scrape off any goodies like algae or diatoms. Sometimes this damages the leaves, but they're generally not setting out to eat the leaves, directly.

All plecos are eating machines. If they don't have enough food, they will rasp anything. And make sure your BNs have wood in the tank to consume, or they can rasp plants.


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## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

Thanks, removed them last night and was going to give back to the local store. He bred them and I got them quite small , but they certainly have grown fast. Still home in bucket. So should I try algae wafers and put in some driftwood and keep them? That is the question.I removed driftwood about a week ago..........waiting on a nicer piece.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I keep swords in my 75 gal tank with 3 large (over 6" BN males). While my swords are not show quality swords (none of my plants are as I do not use CO2 or ferts) they are healthy and have been in this tank for years with the BNs. I feed my BNs algae wafers, zucchini, canned green beans and shelled frozen peas. However, I keep fish and the plants are there to make their home look nice. I do not keep a tank for the under water forest. If that makes any sense to you. I doubt a BN can take out a sword if the conditions are right for the plant in the first place but feeding the BN enough food will keep him from going over the leaves again and again to look for something edible. Do not blame the fish for looking for food, feed him.


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## PhysicsDude55 (Oct 24, 2011)

megatrev62 said:


> Thanks, removed them last night and was going to give back to the local store. He bred them and I got them quite small , but they certainly have grown fast. Still home in bucket. So should I try algae wafers and put in some driftwood and keep them? That is the question.I removed driftwood about a week ago..........waiting on a nicer piece.


That might be the root of your problem. BN plecos love/need driftwood. I've read that they rasp the wood and use the cellulous for their scales?

In any case, my BN plecos are almost always sucking on a piece of wood. I've kept them with swords for years with now issues.

If you put some wood back in the tank, I bet the BN plecos will leave the swords alone.


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## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

I'm going to keep them out. They were certainly getting enough food as they have tripled their size in 2.5 months. Love to keep them but the swords are doing well and one has bloomed recently, hence my not taking any chances. I don't know if just placing drifwood in the tank would solve the problem. Thanks for all input.

On second thought I am going to keep one and place driftwood back in. See how that goes.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

What size is the tank? While BN are relatively sedentary fish, so it would seem they do not need a lot of room for swimming around, the larger tank will provide more perches, more plants, more surface area for them to graze on, so each small spot does not get over grazed. 
Like keeping a horse in a large pasture vs a corral. 
The horse wanders the pasture, nibbling here and there, and the grass keeps on growing back. In the corral the ground is bare, and won't grow things because of the intense trampling and search and eat-everything habit of the horse.


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## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

They tank is a 90 gallon. Plenty of room and plants are doing great. There may be something to the removal of the driftwood. I do realize they are the best plecos to put in a planted tank, and they never ,ever damaged any plants. A few leaves of both sword plants had damage ie holes and rasping behaviour. Really on two minds if I should add them back. Hate to get rid of them.


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## megatrev62 (Sep 26, 2014)

Worked like a charm. Put the piece of wood back in and increased the algae wafers and all leaves untouched. Gave it a good week to see if that was the problem. Thanks again.


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## monty67 (Sep 22, 2010)

Know this is an older thread but I was looking up some info on the bristle nose and decided I would share my experience. I have one sail fin female albino bristle nose in my tank and she is about 7 years old. I went through a phase where I tried to keep swords and kept thinking I had no luck with them because they kept looking like crud and then dying off. Then I saw the bristle nose rasping away on them. This tank is well fed and has an abundance of anubias and driftwood. I Put my first sword, a melon sword, in the tank in two years a couple days ago. Within two days a third of the leaves are rasped. For some reason she just singles out the swords and mows them down. Between her and the two nerite snails that keep chewing my new anubias leaves down I know a few tank mates that may be leaving soon. Don't know of any other option if i don't want to be replacing plants all the time.


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## gbb0330 (Nov 21, 2015)

confirming BN plecos like wood, I also give mine spinach, cucumber or zucchini a few times per week.


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