L144a Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus sp.), Locally Bred
- Low stock - 8 items left
- Backordered, shipping soon
We are now offering LOCALLY BRED juveniles of this rare bristlenose pleco variety! These fish are bred by an expert breeder and delivered directly to our facility, which eliminates the otherwise much more stressful and extensive inbound shipment. This is particularly beneficial with plecos, which feed and graze constantly.
The Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus sp.), also known as the Blue Eye Lemon Bushy Nose Pleco, is a member of the Loricariidae family of South American suckermouth catfishes. While many suckermouth catfish species have yet to be bred on any major scale in aquariums, the Bristlenose pleco is one of the most easily and often-bred “pleco” species in the aquarium hobby. This fish is immediately distinguishable by its highly variable brown and tan marbled pattern, as well as the growth of many bristle-like appendages on its facial area beginning in sub-adulthood. Both sexes grow the appendages, but the growth and length is much more pronounced in males. Many plecos, especially those that are wild-caught but are not yet properly scientifically described and categorized, are classified by the “L system,” with the L being short for Loricariidae, the family representing South American suckermouth catfish. It is widely believed that the “L144” classification of this fish is a misnomer and that the true L144 pleco is not bred or even seen in captivity, but might have initially been used in developing this color variety of this Ancistrus. Regardless, it is a very unique and beautiful tank-raised fish.
A generally peaceful and hardy species, the Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco is an excellent, undemanding candidate for most aquariums. Unlike the widely-seen Common Pleco (Hypostomus plecostomus) and Trinidad Pleco (Hypostomus punctatus), which easily reach a monstrous size of 18 to 20+ inches, the Bristlenose Pleco grows to a size of only 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm). This smaller size makes for a much more manageable (and less messy) pleco that can thrive permanently in a well-maintained aquarium as small as 30 to 40 gallons. Male plecos may be somewhat territorial with other males of their species, but disputes can usually be diffused by providing ample territory and hiding places for each fish. All other tankmates will be generally ignored, although it is possible that small dwarf shrimp fry might fall prey to the Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco.
The Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco is primarily nocturnal, but will often become active during daytime hours once established in an aquarium with plenty of driftwood, rockwork, and other hiding places. It is not known to eat wood heavily like some plecos (Panaque sp., etc.), but it may benefit from some supplementary wood (or bio-matter on driftwood) in its diet. The Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco will not bother most plants, but it will eat plenty of algae in the aquarium, especially as a juvenile. Feed the Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco a diet heavy in vegetable matter, including high-quality vegetable flakes, sinking algae wafers and pellets. It will also appreciate being fed some fresh vegetables such as shelled peas, spinach, zucchini and cucumber. Occasional meaty foods such as bloodworms are also beneficial when fed very sparingly. This fish eats constantly, so too much meat/animal protein in its diet can be unhealthy for the fish as well as the level of waste it produces in the aquarium.
- The Blue Eye Lemon Bristlenose Pleco is a very peaceful and hardy addition to almost any aquarium.
- At a maximum size of 4-5 inches, this is a very practical and manageable fish.
- This fish will not bother most plants, but it will likely help with algae control, especially as a juvenile. It will also scavenge and consume most uneaten fish food.
- Unique appearance as well as plenty of personality.
- Temperature: 72° - 86° F (22° - 30° C)
- pH: 6.5 - 7.5
- KH: 6 - 10 dKH
- Minimum tank size: 30 gallons
- Diet: Omnivore, but meatier foods should only be fed sparingly (once a week or less).
- Social behavior: Generally solitary, but will socialize somewhat, especially during breeding.
- Origin: Tank-bred, but indigenous to South America.
- Average adult size: 4 - 5 inches (10 - 13 cm)
- Average purchase size: Juveniles: .5 - 1.25 inches (1.3 - 3.2 cm)
For the safety of our animals, we only ship live fish, crabs, and select other inverts exclusively via UPS 1 Day Air. If your order contains this item, you will only see UPS 1 Day Air as a shipping option during checkout. If other items are in your cart that can ship with 2 day or standard shipping options the only shipping method you can still select is UPS 1 Day Air.
UPS 1 Day is a description of the duration of time a shipment will spend in transit once it has been shipped. This does not guarantee the package will be shipped the same or next day from which the order was placed.
Shipping Schedule for this service
Current Handling Time:
1-9 business days
Here at Aquatic Arts, we consider the welfare of the live animals we are shipping to be of the foremost importance. This process is much more involved than simply creating a shipping label and affixing it to a box. Depending on the order, it takes from 4 to 7 people to complete this process properly. We check the weather conditions here where they fly out of the Indianapolis UPS facility and the destination for each shipment. We start early each morning and go through a multi-step process to have the day's shipments prepared in time for the UPS pickup. The volume of orders in our system also affects the processing time. Therefore our stated handling time is 1-9 business days.
Shipping Rate
Pricing is by size of package needed to fill entire order and distance it must travel. It will be calculated at checkout.