help me sex this Bristlenose please

[squid]

Need help with sexing this piece

it is about 3 inches.

i have another one which i am sure is a male since its head is quite big, and with lots of bushy mustache. I'm not sure if this is a Juvy male or a female?

thanks

[bekateen]

If any of the bristles are growing out of the face up the middle of the nose (towards the eyes), as opposed to just along the lip, then this is a male.

However if all the bristles are along the lip, I'm not sure what to make of it. When I had albino BNs, none of my females had bristles. But I've seen other albino BNs that had some bristles along the lip. From your photos, the bristles seem more abundant than what I expect for females, but I can't be sure.

Cheers, Eric

[squid]

thanks!! yup , also the head part seem to be thicker than what i'd expect of normal females?
I'm expecting mid section to be wider then maybe taper off again near the head part?

[cichlidlife]

It is definitively a male because of its bristles. Also if you look behind the eyes you will see a reddish area and that is the heart of the bn pleco. males will show the heart behind the eyes while any females will not have a noticeable reddish area at all.