Plecos not doing anything

[CiRXSi]

Well, I went out and picked up a Bristlenose and a Rubberlip for my 55, and their not doing a darn thing. They're just sitting in one spot under a rock for about 12 hours at a time and then they'll move about an inch. Anybody else have this? Do they also have a down time in a new tank, like many other fish, while they're getting used to their new surroundings? I guess I wasn't expecting it, because when I put 2 otos in my 15, they cleaned that entire thing up in 2 days.

 

[grimlock3000]

My Brislenose only comes out when all of the tank lights and room lights are out. The rest of the day he stays in a small cave and does nothing except turn around every few hours. I figured the fish would eventully get over it and be more friendly once he got used to the tank. In the 6 months or so I have had the fish, I have seen him out of his cave in daylight maybe twice. At night sometimes I check the tank with a flashlight to make sure he is still looking healthy. He does not even do that good of a job cleaning the algae in the tank either, so I have to drop in algae wafers about once a week to make sure he eats. When people look into my tank I have them peer towars the cave and all they see is a shadow of the bristles and some fins so they are like, "WTF IS THAT?"

My Bristlenose is by far one of the most lazy fish I have ever seen, but he adds a lot of character to the tank

 

[Fish_fanatic]

Yup that is pretty much all that plecos do. Sleep during the day, eat at night and create a huge bioload lol. But I still like em and have one in every tank.

The best way to be able to see them all the time is to put a peice of driftwood in the tank and let them suck on that.

 

[illuminum]

MY three pleco's are very very lazy. I rarely see them cleaning the tank. I'm sure they do it when it's dark though since the tanks stay clean. They're active when I drop in algae wafers too.

 

[grimlock3000]

"The best way to be able to see them all the time is to put a peice of driftwood in the tank and let them suck on that."

Did not work for me, the Pleco only sucks on it at night

 

[Allivymar]

LOL My plec hangs out on his driftwood during the day, and will eat the food I feed the others as well (he apparently didn't get the nocturnal memo LOL). But I do keep that half of the tank darker for him. That being said, the tank he is in is the ONLY algae free tank; he does all his algae eating at night.

 

[madasafish]

So many conflicting opinions and experiences on this issue...

A lot of ppl have active bristlenoses that shimmy over the glass and wood all day. Many others don't. Bristlenoses seem to be some of the more diurnally active Pleco species, though...

I was at BrianNY's house over the weekend with Allivymar, and his albino bristlenoses move around the tank during the day. Back when I had bristlenoses (died in the blackout, when I couldn't get back to the house in time ), they were fairly active during the day.

I find that my L-142 and my Queen Arabesque come out occasionally during the day once they've really scoped out the room and made sure no one is around. Sit in front of your tank and don't move for 10 minutes. They may come out. I think their confidence also grows with time...

 

[grimlock3000]

I think it can depend on if the fish was tank raised or wild caught too. I do believe the fish I have was likely wild caught and shipped to North America. And like people, all fish have their own personality traits that can never be fully explained

 

[Menagerie]

I just love my Rubber Lip. Barely see him (thought he was way bigger than he is), but the tank is clean. If I can get the algae wafer in the center of the tank, I get to see him eat it. Give your plecos time--maybe they will come out more.

 

[Hypostomus]

My common plecostomus are out all the time, and care very little about who or what is near them.

 

[madasafish]

Yeah, that is true about the common plecs a lot more. I was going to mention that in my last post. The common plecs seem to be pretty tolerant and diurnal.