Dave Ello wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I'm feeling sick as I type this. Perhaps someone could answer the
question - how long will a mature and strong Bristlenose last attached to
a
damp rock at about 20 deg C out of the water?

Yesterday, the wife and I removed all rocks/vegetation from our 5' tank to
catch some Crabros to take to the LFS - taking great care that none of our
fish were in any of the rock cavities. We were unavoidably detained and
didn't return home for about 12 hours. We replanted, put everything back
in
the tank and sat back to check on our fish.

Much searching and we couldn't find Bristle, realising that we'd forgotten
to check for him in the tank after removing all the rocks/vegetation. All
day we'd come to the tank and no sign. Eventually, I saw the end of his
(or
her) tail in an obscure cavity in his fav. rock. I touched the tail and
it
moved - much relief. Overnight and all day today Bristle remained in
precisely the same spot so we elected to take the rock out and have a
check
thinking he may have actually been out for 12 hours and needed some help
(Bristle is very active in our tank).

To our horror, he had wedged himself in an apparently impossible situation
and I tried very gently to get him out - but backwards. We took the view
that he would have been stuck there to his detriment and so after some
coaxing - he struggled but we got him out. He floated to the bottom of
the
tank and was obviously distressed and perhaps a little injured. Tomorrow
we'll find out more and will keep you posted.

- Firstly, is it at all likely that he was in the rock out of the water
for
all that time and survived?
- Secondly, he looked very tightly wedged in a very cramped spot as if
he'd
been struggling in desperation. His natural grain made it appear that he
had no chance to get out - the only way was backwards. Can they control
their grain and move backwards in a tight spot?
- Thirdly, what should we do to assist his recovery from obvious shock, a
possible eternity out of water (12 hrs) and injury?

I probably won't sleep much tonight and hope our little guy is OK. Any
answers will be greatly received.

Dave



There have been a few bushynose plecos get stuck in the plants and algae
when the pond gets emptied. They survived longer periods in hotter temp's
than you describe, possibly because of the moisture in the plants.
The wedged in could be as a result of a defence mechanism. The spiny parts
of the dorsal and pectoral fins would have extended so the fish couldn't be
pulled out by a predator. Once settled, they can relax and back out in most
situations.
Just observe the fish for possible damage. Their body armour protects them,
so the real concern will be a possible drying out and damage to the gills.
Good luck.

Jim