Pleco changing in colour

[bracey87]

I think the pics say it all 1st pic is how he usually is sometimes a little darker, he doesn't stay pale but then he doesn't stay his darker colour either I have heard of this before but not really found a answer as to why he's eating and and passing it fine and seems his normal happy self so not really too concerned for him at the mo, by the way he's a hifin pleco got him about 3 and half months ago prob about an inch long now doubled in size

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[jessipanda]

What size tank? How are the water parameters? What type of decor and/or plants do you have?

Aside from disease, there are two main reasons your pleco would do this sort of color changing. 1) He's stressed from lack of hiding spots, poor water conditions, from still adjusting to new surrounds, or from being picked on by tank mates. Or 2) He's just “camouflaging” to his surroundings. 99% of the time, it's one of those two things. As long as his water is fine, tank mates are playing nice, and he has plenty of hiding spots he should be fine. Very rarely do you see thus type of discoloration with diseases. It's still possible he has some sort of disease such as velvet. I'd say as long as he's acting normal, he's probably fine. Just keep an eye on him.

 

[bracey87]

Thanks for the reply size of tank is 140 litres in gallons I believe it's 38 gallons and water parameters are fine never had a issue with them tank mates all playing fine never gets bothered got bog wood and a plant in there prob could do with a few more hiding spots I'll work on that and see how it goes ☺

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[bracey87]

Here is a shot of the tank still a working progress but as you can see still plenty of room in there for him to grow

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[jessipanda]

Tank looks good, but it's too small for this pleco. The smallest recommendation for a young sailfin/hi-fin (a type of “common” with longer fins) is nothing smaller than a 50g. And that's just temporarily while they're young. They get rather large, up to 20" and shouldn't be housed in anything smaller than a 150g for long. Not just for size, but also for the major poop machines they are. Even if he is fine right now, I'd recommend either upgrading your tank to at the very least a 100g. If that's not feasible/possible for you, then you should return him and look into smaller pleco breeds. While none would technically be suitable for your tank, a pleco that doesn't exceed 6", such as a bristlenose or rubberlip, would be better than one that will quickly grow longer than your tank and produce 20x more waste than that tank could handle.

 

[bracey87]

Tank looks good, but it's too small for this pleco. The smallest recommendation for a young sailfin/hi-fin (a type of “common” with longer fins) is nothing smaller than a 50g. And that's just temporarily while they're young. They get rather large, up to 20" and shouldn't be housed in anything smaller than a 150g for long. Not just for size, but also for the major poop machines they are. Even if he is fine right now, I'd recommend either upgrading your tank to at the very least a 100g. If that's not feasible/possible for you, then you should return him and look into smaller pleco breeds. While none would technically be suitable for your tank, a pleco that doesn't exceed 6", such as a bristlenose or rubberlip, would be better than one that will quickly grow longer than your tank and produce 20x more waste than that tank could handle.

Thanks for the advice I know he'll get a big boy I do plan on getting another tank 200 litre+ later on in the year I am planning on a cichlid tank just researching it at the mo never kept them before

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[jessipanda]

Cichlids are fun, colorful fish. Remember, those sailfin plecos grow very quickly. By the end of the year, he'll have outgrown even a 200 litre (only 52 gallon), or have issues from stunted growth. He needs to be in no less than a 380 litre within the next year, maybe 2 max. Otherwise you're going to either stunt his growth or he will produce enough waste that you would need to do at least 3-4 50% water changes with a gravel vac. As pretty as they are, they really do produce that much waste and grow that quickly. If you plan on getting a large enough (380 litre) tank for him, you're better off doing that as soon as possible to prevent causing him any harm.

 

[bracey87]

Cichlids are fun, colorful fish. Remember, those sailfin plecos grow very quickly. By the end of the year, he'll have outgrown even a 200 litre (only 52 gallon), or have issues from stunted growth. He needs to be in no less than a 380 litre within the next year, maybe 2 max. Otherwise you're going to either stunt his growth or he will produce enough waste that you would need to do at least 3-4 50% water changes with a gravel vac. As pretty as they are, they really do produce that much waste and grow that quickly. If you plan on getting a large enough (380 litre) tank for him, you're better off doing that as soon as possible to prevent causing him any harm.

Thanks, this worries me thinking I should have looked into this abit more before buying him, think I'll enjoy him for the mean time and take him to the fish store when he gets too big they have quite a few big boys there in nice big display tanks

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[jessipanda]

It's a very common mistake, but now you know! Lol I did the same thing when I got started a year ago. Luckily, I ended up with a half inch-long bristlenose pleco in a 10g and was given a 55g that just needed to be resealed. He outgrew that 10g real quick, and he's one of the smaller breeds--shouldn't exceed 8". He's about 5-6" now and has been in the 55g for about 4 months. He's a freaking poop factory! But he's fun to watch and has quite the personality.

I think that taking him back to the store or finding a more suitable home for him when he's bigger would be best for him. But there's always going bigger with the tank size too! Lol I know I already have some BIG plans for the future! XD