bristlen-nose pleco changes colors?

[hbeth82]

Do bristle-nose plecos change colors or develop different colors in certain areas in response to their surroundings (like after a water change, the salvini is white as a sheet)? He's mostly dark brown, kinda the shade of the darker of the two brown M&M's but occasionally he has mustard yellow spots, mostly on his dorsal side, but sometimes ventral too. Is this normal or is it signs of illness?

Also, do these plecos need any food supplement in addition to the wealth of algae already growing in the tank?

Thanks!

 

[WhiteDevil]

Stress related.

Other then algae I feed my BNP and RNP blanched zucchini's

 

[hbeth82]

Don't notice him being pestered or poked at by any of the fish and the water parameters are all good (ammonia & nitrite = 0, nitrate <20ppm) - any idea what might cause it or could he just be more sensitive to pestering?

 

[Etunes]

It is a stress response most of the time, which it sounds like that to me since it is when you do a water change. Also what color substrate do you have. People with white sand have issues with fish showing there full color. They try to blend in. There are studies that show that having white sand actually stresses out fish since it is nearly impossible too blend in. Even though never completely proven.

 

[hbeth82]

It is a stress response most of the time, which it sounds like that to me since it is when you do a water change.

Sorry, I must not have said that right. I notice this spotted coloring on the pleco at random times, may last for a few days at most, but haven't noticed that it coincided with water changes. Most recently, noticed it Tuesday but he always does water changes on Friday. The reference to the sal going pale was just the most drastic color change I've noticed in the tank, though the blue acara becomes quite dark when we try to get food to the featherfin!

The sand is white-ish, not play-sand but something made by QuikRete. If it is true that the paler sand can lead to stress, would providing extra cover help? Never see the pleco hiding much but maybe he doesn't feel like he can?

 

[WhiteDevil]

Plecos love dark holes, they are a catfish of sorts.

I took a resin root system out for a real root system in my tank with the BNP in it, it had lotsa hiding area, its gone he has found another dark spot to hang out in.

Do you have any driftwood in the tank, they use it to eat on and hide in/under.

Quikrete premium play sand? thats alot of quartz, how does it look?

 

[hbeth82]

There's several pieces of driftwood, two are about 4x6" and the other is much larger but pretty much owned by the featherfin & occasionally the sal. Also a few cut-up clay pots at different angles. So, I guess there are several hiding spots but not much general coverage, but the closest he gets to hiding is underneath the heater, very seldom do we have to work to find him. Is it strange that he doesn't hide more?

As for the sand, it has some small bits of gravel mixed in so I doubt it's playsand. It's not my tanks so I'm not sure about type, only that it was QuikRete & took many, many hours to clean.

 

[WhiteDevil]

I can barely find mine.

I dont think that one is ok for tanks, that might be why he isnt down and hiding.

I know quikrete makes a play sand that is ok for aquarium use but there isnt gravel in that, I think thats a paver/packing sand.

 

[hbeth82]

I can barely find mine.

I dont think that one is ok for tanks, that might be why he isnt down and hiding.

I know quikrete makes a play sand that is ok for aquarium use but there isnt gravel in that, I think thats a paver/packing sand.

You don't think that the sand is ok? If it's any indication, the psychotic meeki who was in there for a while sifted it and the salivini digs little trenches. It may be play-sand but it's not what I think of as sand, which I guess would be beach-sand. . . I mostly played in rice.

Is there a good way to tell if it is ok to have in there?