Blue Eye Lemon Bushynose Pleco (Ancistrus sp.)

The Blue Eye Lemon Bushynose Pleco is a selectively bred Ancistrus that trades the usual mottled brown for a solid lemon yellow body and a pair of genuinely blue eyes. It is not an albino, which is the common mix-up: albinos have pink or red eyes, and this line holds true blue against clean yellow, which is a far harder look to get and the reason these cost more than a standard bristlenose. Underneath the color it is the same excellent fish, a hardworking algae grazer that stays small, minds its own business, and spends the evening rasping away at driftwood. Browse the rest of our freshwater livestock and supplies to build the tank around it.

It stays small, unlike the pleco you are thinking of

The fish most people picture when they hear "pleco" is a Common Pleco, and it reaches 18 to 24 inches and needs a tank the size of a couch. A Bushynose tops out around 4 to 5 inches and is comfortable in a 20 or 30 gallon. If you have been told plecos outgrow everything, this is the one that does not, and it is why Ancistrus is the only pleco most aquarists should be buying.

Care Guide

• Driftwood is not decoration. Bushynose plecos rasp on wood constantly and the fiber it provides matters for their digestion. A tank with no wood in it is a tank where this fish does noticeably worse. Malaysian Driftwood, CaribSea Scapers Select, or a few Cholla Wood branches all do the job.
• Tank size: 20 gallons for one, 30 or more if you want a pair or other bottom dwellers. Floor space matters more than height.
• Water parameters: 73 to 81°F, pH 6.5 to 7.5, hardness 6 to 15 dGH. Genuinely adaptable and happy in ordinary tap water.
• Feeding: algae is a start, not a diet. Once the tank is clean they need real food: Xtreme Scrapers Sinking Wafers, Hikari Algae Wafers, or Repashy Morning Wood, plus blanched zucchini. Feed after lights out, since they do most of their work at night.
• Hiding spots: give it a cave or an overhang to sit under during the day. A Hikari Dark Rock Cave doubles as a spawning site if you end up with a pair.
• How many: one male per tank unless it is large. Males are peaceful toward other species but will defend a cave against another male. A male and a female get along fine and will very likely breed.
• Lifespan: 5 years and beyond, so this is a long term resident rather than a disposable cleanup fish.

Specifications

Compatibility

One of the easiest fish to add to an existing community. It works the glass, wood, and rocks and ignores everything swimming above it, so it slots in under almost anything peaceful: Neon Tetra, Ember Tetra, Zebra Danio, and bottom dwellers like the Skunk Cory. The Otocinclus Catfish pairs well since it grazes soft film on plants while the pleco handles tougher growth on hardscape. Amano Shrimp and snails are safe.

Other plecos. Keep one male. If you want a second color in the tank, our Bushy Nose Albino Gold is the same species in a different morph, but two males will compete for the same cave. A male and a female is the pairing that works.

What to watch. Large aggressive cichlids will harass a small pleco, and a young 1.5 inch fish is small enough to be bullied. Add it to an established peaceful tank rather than a rough one.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Malaysian Driftwood or Cholla Wood branches, the one thing not to skip
• Xtreme Scrapers Sinking Wafers
• Hikari Algae Wafers
• Repashy Morning Wood gel food
• Hikari Dark Rock Cave for daytime shelter and spawning

FAQ

How big does it actually get?
4 to 5 inches, full stop. This is not the pleco that outgrows tanks. Common Plecos hit 18 inches or more, which is where the reputation comes from, but Bushynose are a completely different animal and stay small for life.

Is it the same as an albino bristlenose?
No. Albinos have pink or red eyes and a paler, creamier body. The Blue Eye Lemon carries true blue eyes against a saturated yellow, which is a separate and harder to produce line. Side by side the difference is obvious.

When do the bristles appear?
At this size, not yet. Males grow the branched bristles across the snout as they mature, usually around a year old, while females stay mostly smooth with a few short bristles along the edge. Buying at 1.5 inches means you will not know the sex for a while, which is part of the fun if you are hoping for a pair.

Will it clean my whole tank?
It will do real work on algae, but it is a fish, not a filter. Once it has grazed what is available it needs sinking wafers and vegetables of its own, and a pleco left to live on algae alone will slowly starve in a clean tank.