Pleco Acting Strange?

[injektion]

I've been reading around and it seems to me that plecos are shy creatures that hide a lot especially when there's a lot of light. The strange thing about my pleco is that he/she doesn't spend a lot of time hiding, or clinging on the glass rather it's always either on the sand or on the ornaments or on the driftwood. Is this strange or am I just being paranoid? I feed it algae wafers every morning and it kinda seems to clean up the dry flake left overs from the other fish in the evening.

Also I keep it in a 30 gal tank. I know, it's way too small for a growing pleco (currently it's about 1.5") but I plan on giving it to my cousin when it grows too big for my tank.

 

[stang1]

What type of Pleco do you have?
If it is a Common or Gibbiceps, then it will eventually need rehoming. If it is a Bristlenose, then it will be fine in your 30G tank.
Although Plecos are nocturnal, it is not unusual to see them out during the day. Make sure you have plenty of hiding places so that it has somewhere to hide away, although it sounds as if you have already done that.
The main thing to look for in Plecos is a sunken belly, sunken eyes, bloatedness or looking pale. These can indicate infection, lack of food or stress. If your Plec has none of these, then you've nothing to really worry about.
Try varying the diet with vegetables such as courgette, cucumber, sweet potato etc. but remember to remove any uneaten food so that it doesn't pollute your tank.

 

[injektion]

Should I cook these vegetables to make them softer? Also how much should I put in? I have 9 glowlight tetras and 4 pepper corys in the tank as well. Would they eat the veggies as well?

 

[stang1]

Courgette and cucumber are fine as they are. Slice in half lengthways and use a weight to hold them down. Some people use plant weights whilst others use stainless steel forks. Things like potatoes can be par boiled just to soften them up a little. You don't need huge amount, a quarter of a cucumber/courgette will be fine as you can remove them after a few hours. Your other fish will be fine munching on these, although if the Pleco claims it, they have little chance!