Common pleco

[Riley]

I have had this pleco quit some time now with 2 oscars and 2 parrotfish.. BUT heres my question! Its turning white! I will post a pic soon of it.. Very weird

 

[Cichildlife]

Yes, very iv never herd of a pleco doing that...

 

[Riley]

Heres da pic... 15 character limit

 

[Riley]

And i know it isnt the oscars stressn it they have been together 6+ months and its like the oscars dont evn notice or care about it that and he has no nips or chunks of fin missin

 

[Cichildlife]

Sometimes pleco's get this, my mom's did and it was no harm but wait for an expert to conferm

 

[User]

Is that a Sailfin Pleco? I have one and it has done the same, though I have had it less time. Like yours mine has those same white bands. Still acts like normal. Im wondering the same thing, your not alone

 

[Riley]

When i bought it im pretty sure it was labeld common pleco but i may be wrong since it was so long ago. It really just started to happen a week ago..

 

[IvanMike]

I've seen those bands on many a "common pleco" - they come and go. I'm sure someone knows more about this, so hopefully they'll chime in. they could be related to mood, territoriality, camouflage (really - most "plecos" come from fast moving rivers so this could look like the ripples of sunlight on a river bottom), or something else entirely.

Don't worry, your fish will not "lose all his spots" or get whiter and whiter. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I had a pleco - I don't recall seeing those bands when they were really young, but they might have started showing up at a certain size.

so the long and short of it is - nothing to worry about - but I'd be interested to know what function ichthyologists think they serve.

 

[BakerBoy17]

Off topic, but how large is your tank? It must be huge to keep all that

 

[Riley]

Its a 100gl.. 15 characters

 

[Batesy82]

How big is he? Either he is small or you have some massive gravel!!

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Did you just change the gravel? Or get new lights?

 

[Riley]

The gravel is fairly large. And the only new light is the new bulb i had to replace.. Everythings been the same for a few months