In this post i am going to address probably one of the biggest questions in fishkeeping…. should i buy a bristlenose plec? good question so lets start with the downsides, although most fish keepers love them they are quite… well UGLY, the plec definitely hit every branch of the ugly tree on its way down to the river, also they can transform the most beautiful aquascape into a subsea bomb site, there i said it plecos especially britlenose they like things their own way.

so why do so many of us keep them? well in short we find them unique, the pleco is unlike any other fish species in a freshwater tank, we find them beautiful, the pleco has a near prehistoric look to it and whenever i get the honour of seeing my calico britlenose ( they are very shy ) im transported back in time.

Now apart from the obvious downsides to keeping these jurrasic fish there are some fundimental plus sides to adding plecos to your tank, but first let me fill you in on a few key components to any underwater community. Heirarchy, yes thats right every single tank has one providing you keep more than one fish, this heirarchy is formed whenever a new creature is added and changes even years down the line when new species are added, you will have an alpha fish, usually the biggest male in the tank who will ensure he is first to eat any food, he gets his pick of the females ( of his species ) and sometimes intervenes whenever there is a fight between other fish.

Insert pleco lol, these fish male or female are generally the alpha of any tank ( girls get it done! ). they are solitary creatures that normally lurk in the dark out of site, they are calm, they do not move much or often and generally speaking only come out once the light has been turned off, but they are dominant, i cannot tell you the amount of times i have added new fish to my tanks and there has been a standoff between fish but every single one of these wild west showdowns has been broken up by ( yes you guessed it ) the pleco, they hate any bad energy in the tank they are the prefect of the school ( pun intended ), they hate bullying, in general they hate any kind of kerfuffle in their domain and as such keep relative peace in your tank regardless of their size, plecos will standoff ( and win ) with any and i mean any fish in your tank.

Cleaning! yes plecos have incredible suction power from their mouths, bristlenose included and although small compared to other plecos they can clean algae from almost any surface including sands and substrate, they sweep the floor and wash the windows amazing right!!!.

So to summarise what i find to be a lengthy blog, a bristlenose pleco would make a fine addition to any warm freshwater scape and once you add one of these wonderful oddities of nature your tank you wont look back.