All Mr. Pleco does is hides.

[Lowryder]

I got my BN pleco about 2 weeks ago from my lfs on a trade. He had some pretty gnarly fin rot when I got him, that has since been treated and he is now ok. All he seems to do now is hide in my rock cave, I never see him unless I get down and look. Sometimes he will be on the driftwood but on the backside where I cant see him.

His tank mates are 5 bloodfins, 5 black neons, 5 skunk cories, 5 shrimp? (havent seen them in awhile) some nerites and mts.

I would like to see the fish that I buy, thats why I buy them. Is this normal bn pleco behaviour or should I trade him?

 

[mellawson]

I don't know about Bn plecos but my common pleco and my "mystery" pleco both hide quite a bit. They come out a few times a day and attach to the glass or stalk the rocks.

 

[meegosh]

Most plecos are nocturnal so they will only be really active at night. Some will still come out to eat during the day but that is usually the extent of seeing them.

 

[hbeth82]

The bn I have also spends most of his life hiding and very rarely is he out at night, even less during the day. He's claimed the area underneath a large chunk of driftwood, chases away everybody else (even the snail!) and that's nearly always where I can find him. The other day I actually noticed that 5 of my corys where the bn typically hides and my first thought was that "oh no, they ganged up and ate Bert", but he was actually out, chilling in the sandbox.

Despite spending all his time hiding, Bert is somewhat entertaining - he sleeps belly-up, attached to the underside of the driftwood and occasionally ends up sleeping on his back laying on the gravel. Once your pleco finds a specific spot he likes, you could try turning it so you could see him more but I don't think he'll ever spend much time out with the other fish.

 

[HeathB]

With the common pleco I used to have, he spent most of the day sleeping attached to the roof of his cave. He usually only came out when all the lights were out, and he'd go back into hiding when I turned the lights back on. Pretty sure they are nocturnal.

 

[crockwood]

I have 3 plecos in my tank right now and they have all more or less staked their claim on certain areas of the tank.

My big pleco likes to be either behind the small piece of driftwood or attached to the glass tucked in next to my filter return. He's like 8 or 9 inches long so he's pretty easy to spot even when trying to hide. He tends to want to be by himself and gets upset and "thrashy" if some of the other fish poke around in his spots. I call him "the grumpy old codger" because he reminds me of an old man keeping kids off his lawn.

When the lights go out on the tank, he'll wait about 20 minutes and then come out and attach himself to the front glass. Throughout the night I'll hear him looking for food, moving the gravel around.

The small common pleco I have hangs out on the opposite side of the tank, near some plastic plants that are temporarily filling that corner of the tank. He likes cleaning off the fake rock and front glass on that side, and is pretty active.

The final one (I'm not sure of the type though I want to find out) is on a piece of rock with two tunnels in it. He hangs out on that all the time. Even when I picked it up and moved it to the other side yesterday he hung on and just rode along. He too is fairly active, just sticks to his small rock eating algae off it and playing peek-a-boo.

 

[logansmomma1228]

The pleco I had would just chill where ever, they are pretty laid back fishies. I would usually have to look for him real good before I could find him. I think it's just their nature

 

[thuffman03]

Mine hides under my HOB filter intake. He does not move much but will come out and feed when I put food in the tank. He will even come up to the top and feed off the surface. It is pretty cool to watch.

 

[DragonFish71]

I see my common all the time, he's hard to miss at 9 inches (he's in a 120g). The albino chocolate tho, that's another issue. I think maybe once a month I see her. She's 3 1/2 inches in a heavily planted 55.

 

[i3k]

That's interesting...My long-fin albino BN pleco is out and about most of the time during the day and night. He does hide from time to time, but it seems every time I turn my head I see him on the side of the tank or on the plants. I bought this guy about 3 weeks ago and he was pretty active since day one.

Does you pleco come out when you drop food in? especially algae wafers?

 

[Samuel-Bennett]

Mine comes out a lot, he's actually out now munching on some floating cucumber, just holds onto it lol, my Mum's is out too doing the same thing (she lives next door) yet my friend has one and it never seems to grow and hardly ever comes out or even move, but no matter what time of day mine is out and moving

 

[DragonFish71]

That's interesting...My long-fin albino BN pleco is out and about most of the time during the day and night. He does hide from time to time, but it seems every time I turn my head I see him on the side of the tank or on the plants. I bought this guy about 3 weeks ago and he was pretty active since day one.

Does you pleco come out when you drop food in? especially algae wafers?

She sometimes comes out long enough to drag a wafer or zucchini slice away.

 

[mellawson]

Are you gonna keep him Lowryder?

 

[hbeth82]

Don't mean this as a criticism of anybody's tank but maybe part of the difference is whether the pleco feels like he has a good place to hide. Have a small common pleco now (who is in need of a new home) and the best hiding spot I could offer him was a 4" clay pot and he's nearly always out. Likewise, the bristlenose I have started out in my boyfriend's tank where he didn't have any good hiding spots - few plants and no unclaimed driftwood big enough. In that tank , he was out all the time. When we moved Burt over to my tank, he found his niche in the driftwood and we've barely seen him since. He stays out long enough to devour a carnivore pellet or clean up the glass a bit, but not much else.

 

[fishfreak5]

if you cant find the pleco turn the light on a bout an hour early and look for him wherever he usually is

 

[Lowryder]

Are you gonna keep him Lowryder?

Im not sure yet. I really like the fish but I also would like to see him...Im torn.

As for hiding places...he has alot.

He likes to hide in the rocks in the lower cave.

 

[logansmomma1228]

nice tank! I have a ton of plants in my 10 now and I have to look real hard to see my puffer. It kind of sucks, but he needs lots of security. So security it is! lol.

 

[mellawson]

My two cents..cool tank!..keep the fish! But no man has ever listened to me so I don't expect you to either..lol

Seriously, cool tank!

 

[hbeth82]

My two cents..cool tank!..keep the fish!

+1 on all that, awesome rock-formation! From what little I know, it looks like a great home for a bn pleco, but I can also understand frustration at having a fish and never seeing him.

 

[Lowryder]

keep the fish! But no man has ever listened to me so I don't expect you to either..lol

The fish stays!

I realize every fish has their place and job, whether or not you see them they are going a job. Heck, I have 5 shrimp I havent seen in a few weeks.