plecostomus playing dead?!

[redlum777]

my albino bristle nose pleco has apparently started playing dead, giving me a heart attack each time! is this normal? is it a sign of something else is going on or a need not being met? he did it once or twice in the 20 gallon (that i saw, of course) but was last week, was transferred to a 40 gallon. he's done this playing dead thing about 4 times today! what is going on?

[the_fish_man]

what do you mean by playing dead?

[cabezon]

Plecos are nocturnal I believe. Mine spends most of his time in his PVC tube until I leave the room after feeding.

[redlum777]

by "playing dead" i mean that he's laying belly up on the gravel, gills moving, totally still. i gently knocked on the glass beside him and he popped up and went about his business. weird. i haven't been able to find much online about this other than it "just happens" - i'm quite attached to the little dude, just trying to make sure he's okay. it reminds me of something i saw on shark week about sharks going immobile when turned over.

[Melchior]

No worries, your pleco is just resting. I can see mine do that all the time

[warthog76za]

Had the same "worry" the other day when my cory was sitting motionless for almost an hour, after very close inspection I just saw the gills moving ever so slightly and breathed a sigh of relief. Specially since Im new to all this.

[i3k]

It's one thing when a fish is just resting not moving...but it's not normal for a fish to be belly up on it's back. I've owned many plecos and have never seen one "resting" on it's back.

[redfisher1139]

Mine actually started doing this same thing today.? Don't know, but I'm definitely going to watch him closely.

[vic021]

I believe it is normal. Happens to mine every once in a while. They will be attached to something then when they swim away and onto the gravel they stay in the same way they were on what they were attached too. Like if one of mine is on the top of the driftwood with its mouth towards the gravel it will rest on the gravel like that. But if it goes on the bottom of the driftwood and comes off he will stay on his back until he feels like moving or something startles him.

[TML182]

Never heard of that happening, but sure sounds interesting if he is indeed just resting . Just make sure to keep an eye on things like water perimeters for a while to make sure nothings up with him.

[redlum777]

thanks for the replies, everyone! good to hear that others have had this happen too. i haven't seen the pleco do this since my original post - he appears happy and healthy. *shrug*