hi i am new

hi im new to this site and i am interested in getting some bristlenose i have read up about them and know all the requirements they need but any ideas on how to decorate the tank and do you think its best to get a male or female first ad thank you for the replys

Creating plenty of hiding places will give BN's more confidence to venture out and for them to be seen, there should be a least one piece of bogwood.

Substrate can be sand or gravel but needs to be kept clean and bare bottomed tanks are often used for breeding set ups.

If you look around the forums there are some pictures of set ups, there should be some in THIS SECTION

as Jim said, lots of places to hide. If you are planning on breeding them then i would make sure that it is all easy to remove as otherwise it will make catching the little devils very hard.

if you are planning on breeding then a male and female straight off the start line is a good move but make sure that you get them from different bloodlines. Buying a male and a female from the same place will most likely mean they are brother and sister and that will lead to issues later on. If you are not planning on breeding right away then there is no reason why wou would need a male and a female. I would grab some young fish and watch them grow up. always a rewarding experence

As doug stated get some young ones and grow them up. It's rewarding watching them grow and develop personalities. Then when they are old enough breed and do, it's so much rewarding as you've had the so long. When scaping a tank for bn I have a few thing I always have. In my tanks a must is decent substrate (2-3mm gravel is fine for me), wood for bn to munch on and hide under, caves to breed in. I like to have an abundance of filtration such as external canister filters, internal powerhead (for bit of extra current) and sponge filters. Lately iv also added plants to all my tanks in the form of anubias on driftwood, they help keep the nasty nitrates at bay. Lighting isn't essential for bn as along with other plecos they prefer the dark. Doesn't stop mine from being active all day lol

thank you for the help also does anyone know where i can get some fry as the lfs only have 6 inch bristlenoses and they look quite old and quite dosile i live in peterborough east anglia