some questions concerning my pleco.

[suitepee]

i just recently got my 55gal tank cycled and finished, so i put in the pleco from my old tank.

my old tank had black gravel, and my pleco never really came out. he stayed hidden in a cave. but he was always really dark in colour when i did see him.

either way, i have white sand in my new tank, and i notice him getting pale. almost a dark grey with light grey spots on him. his fins are a lot lighter too. do they change colours due to their surroundings?

he's also a lot more active in this tank. his same old cave is in there, but he seems to prefers to move around the glass. could this mean he's looking for algae to eat? i put algae wafers in the tank for him, but i don't notice him eating them. he's not skinny or boney, he looks healthy. he's also about 5 inches long.


this is all probably nothing, but i'm just worried about the colour changing.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Normal, I'd say. They do change color at times. Try dropping in green veggies for him to eat, such as cucumber, zuchini, squash, lettuce, etc. Tie it to a rock or similar and he should go for that.

Best of luck.

 

[Jchillin]

Yes, Plecos will change colors to try and match their surroundings. It's almost comical when you try to imagine pink substrate and your pleco attempting to match it.

Go with DT's advice on the feeding of veggies. Despite his looking healthy, they do much better with the occassional vegetable roughage.

 

[Menagerie]

The color change is normal and there is an article on how to feed veggies to fish in the articles section

 

[Skyrmir]

Coolest thing I've seen my pleco do was try to match the inside of a red bucket when I moved apartments. He couldn't match the red but made a really impressive attempt at a reddish yellow. Truly bizarre to see.