Plec Behaviour

[vivh]

hi

I have a plec (well have had him for a few months now) I think he is a common plec.
I have noticed that sometimes his dark brown colouring sometimes looks very faded, he looks pale in patches, i was just curious as to whether the changing in colour is normal behaviour? or does it indicate that he's not happy about something.

one more thing, does he need a hideaway? i have a plant pot in the tank, as well as a cave type thing ( the corys are in there) but he never seems to go in there, he's usually on the bogwood, but he doesn't seem to hide away at all.

thanks

 

[Tolak]

It's normal behavior. They will change color according to their mood, or the object they are on or near.

If he is staying out when there is someplace to hide, he's probably pretty happy about the situation. Many people have plecs they hardly ever see.

What size tank is he in? If it is a common plec, they get pretty big, over a foot.

 

[vivh]

It's normal behavior. They will change color according to their mood, or the object they are on or near.

If he is staying out when there is someplace to hide, he's probably pretty happy about the situation. Many people have plecs they hardly ever see.

What size tank is he in? If it is a common plec, they get pretty big, over a foot.

i have a 70litre tank, not sure what that is in gallons, sorry. (its 3ft tank)
the guy at the shop did tell me they can grow big, but he did say 10years plus! not sure about that, "George" is now about 3 inches.

thanks for your post, i was worrying about him looking pale!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If he's really pale he's propably stressed as common plecs will go pale when they are stressed about somthing- common plecs can easily live to over 20yrs old if well looked after and will grow about an inch a month in their first year of life- yours is probably 3months old. 70litre tank is too small to keep a common plec in so i would definatly upgrade the tank when he gets to 5-6inches long, 55gals is usually the minimum although the tanks width and length is the most important thing. Their max size can vary a bit but its usually between 10 and 13inches long, although it can really be anything between 8 and 18inches long- the number of veins in his sailfin is usually an indicator of how big he'll get.
Here is an info page with lots of pics and care tips on keeping common plecs ;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...posarc/88_F.PHP