is this a candy striped pleco????

[tao 2008]

i have recently bought my first pleco he/she is very shy and only comes out of the cave i have, when the lights are off can i do anything to make he/she more happy ,and less shy , im not 100% sure what kind of pleco he/she is??? so ive tried looking on the net but its hard to find out what type i have, ive been set up now for only 3 months so still very new to fishkeeping any advice and help would be really apreiciated , and if anyone can tell me what type and sex pleco i have would be wkd
here are some pics hope they help ,
p.s..... ive only just noticed 1 of my glass catfish sneaked into the last pic ,top left hand corner ther really cool fish

 

[colematthewmalaka]

That's a really nice pleco! Generally pleco's are a nocturnal species and come out at night to feed so when you turn off the lights it thinks its night time and will come out for food. I find a way to get them out of hiding during the day is to put bogwood/driftwood in the tank. They love this and scrape their teeth on it this will probably get your pleco out of hiding. Make sure to read the driftwood article on this website so you no how to use and install it properly.

 

[joy13]

It looks a lot like my clown pleco so I had looking and found this link What is the difference between Clown Pleco and Candy-Stripe Pleco? - PlecoFanatics.com you might be able to compare the pictures and see if yours is one of them or a different one. Just to confuse matters there are at least 2 if not more L numbers for each one. The clown is considered a wood eater and the candy stripe is an omnivore.

My clown is a master at hiding it is a real treat to see it out and about. Not all plecos are shy. I had a female bristle nose that was out and about and learned to beg for food, it ended up getting stuck in my filter. I now have a male that isn't shy and he should be out of QT this week.

 

[missileman]

It looks alot like my L204 flash pleco as well.
I would post a pic at Plecofanatics.com and you will get a better ID.
Most plecos will come out in the daylight to feed when they get comfortable with their new home and tankmates.
There are some that are strictly nocturnal but I have found that to not be the norm. I have a couple of L102 snowballs that absolutely will not come out with any lights on, but all of my others will feed during the days and some are quite active all day long.
Some plecos, like the Clown and Flash are wood eaters and not only want but actually need to have some driftwood in the tank, alot of other plecos like to have the wood.
A slice of Zuchini/Corgette on a veggie clip could coax him out. My plecos love it.

 

[krap101]

I was just about to say clown pleco

 

[tao 2008]

thanks for the link, but im still not 100% i have 2 peices of bogwood and he dosnt seem interested

 

[tao 2008]

still confused

thanks 4 the advice everyone, , but im still confused not sure if its a candy striped or clown?i have bogwood in the tank and ive been puting broccoli and cucumber in at night but he just eats the algae in the tank which is cool but want him to be healthy i miight try some cougette 2nite

 

[tao 2008]

thanx missileman i did sign up and post a pic at Plecofanatics.com waiting 4 any replys thanks again!

 

[joy13]

You have to let us know which it is, I am thinking it is a candy stripe since you said it eats algae.

 

[colematthewmalaka]

thanks for the link, but im still not 100% i have 2 peices of bogwood and he dosnt seem interested

Only some species of pleco like bogwood

 

[tao 2008]

i got in touch with the person i bought it from and he said that it was a clown pleco but he said hes not 100% ive looked @loads of stuff on the net and think it must be? n e way hes getting much more active now and has come out of hiding a lot more so what ever type he is at least hes getting happier and less shy