pitbull pleco--underwater chameleon?

[mommytron]

i was wondering if anyone else has expereince with pitbull plecos. i love our little guy, he got comfortable in our tank rather quickly. he spends most of the day attached to the DW and most of the night while the lights are off working his way around the walls of the tank. we've had him for 2 days and just now i saw him up on the side of the glass, the lights still on.

when we first added him to the tank, he blended right in with the sand. he was light tan and had some darker flecks on him. the next morning when we woke up, we found him hanging out on the driftwood, and his whole body was as dark as the wood, with lighter tan flecks on him. it seems when he is in the sand he blends right in, and then when he is attached to the driftwood he is much darker. do they change colors to blend in with their environment? i had not read anything like this, so i'm hoping it's normal, and doesn't mean he is sick or something. maybe my eyes are just playing tricks on me...

does anyone else have or has anyone had a pitbull pleco? have you noticed the changing colors??

 

[logansmomma1228]

sorry i can't help you out any, but just wanted to say that is really cool! do you know if your LFS is getting any more in soon?

 

[Crepe]

I know a lot of saltwater fish that do the same thing. I'm sure it's natural.

 

[taylorodw]

Yep, I have been reading about them (I found yours to be just so cute!), and that is normal. One of the many cool aspects of this pleco.

 

[agp]

I know a lot of saltwater fish that do the same thing. I'm sure it's natural.

I agree... My I bought this fish for my sister last week (I forgot what it's called) and it had light stripes, because the fish store's aquarium sand was white, but now we put it in a tank with darker gravel and decorations, its color became darker.

 

[mommytron]

good to know! I figured it was normal and natural, I just wasn't expecting it!! he really is such a cool fish. props to my hubby for discovering him

I'm not sure when the lfs will be getting more, but we gave them our number and said we want two more, so they will call us when more come in and reserve two for us. hopefully they will get them this week, I really think he will benefit from having buddies, he seems kinda lonely none of the other fish will play with him stupid fat cardinals.... lol, our fish are piggies.

 

[mommytron]

Here are some pictures of our beloved pitbull pleco! the first one is within minutes of adding him to the tank. the second one is blurry but shows how well he blends into the sand (you can barely tell he's there!) and the third one is the morning after we added him, after he had been on the wood a while.

 

[logansmomma1228]

haha! I didn't even see him on the sand at first! He is so awesome Keep us updated!