bristlenose

A male bristlenose may guard several clutches of eggs simultaneously.

Our main picture shows an Ancistrus described as a Chubby Bristlenose.

Left; The Chubby Bristlenose.

In comparison with a typical pleco, a bristlenose is typically shorter (15 cm or less), more flattened and fatter with a comparatively wider head.

I suspect that the males of the Ancistrus genus (Bristlenose Plecos) may well feel some semblance of "love" for their offspring.

Above: Temminck's Bristlenose (Ancistrus temmincki) was one of the first Ancistrus species to be bred in the aquarium.

Unlike other plecos which commonly grow to over a foot long, the bristlenose pleco may only grow to half the size, this makes it a suitable species of pleco for the smaller tank.

The Chubby Bristlenose as this fish is described in the trade clearly shows the tentacle like mouth growths, the spiky gill patches and the rough denticles on the leading edge of its pectorals when viewed from below.

Caution should be taken with the spines (odontodes) - although the risk of personal injury is small with this genus the hooked nature of the odontodes means that a bristlenose may become trapped in non-natural material such as sponge filters and netting.

The name "plecostomus" means "folded mouth" (pleco, see pleat, stoma, mouth), but it has since been applied to any of a large number of species that have a similar shape, but vary widely in terms of maximum length, coloration, and certain body features such as the "horns" on the bristlenose catfish (genus Ancistrus).