Pleco Out Of Water

[JohnRossDele]

hi all, i have seen lots and lots of pics with people holding plecos out of water is theyre some sort of thing that the plecos do to survive

 

[tropic_john]

hi all, i have seen lots and lots of pics with people holding plecos out of water is theyre some sort of thing that the plecos do to survive

plecs and corys are either scaless or have tough scales [corys] that can keep their moisture in for longer so they can stay out of water for longer than other fish

Thats what I've heard, get someone like jenclibee to clarify this.

 

[mixmaster jay]

you can hold any fish out of water but not for too long they are no massive differences just easier to handle as they have rough thick armer

 

[JenCliBee]

you can hold any fish out of water but not for too long they are no massive differences just easier to handle as they have rough thick armer

As above, there not actually took out of water for long, just for the photo purpose... so for that 30 secs the fish or any would probably be perfectly ok

 

[Curiosity101]

Bet it's not very nice though. Imagine being plunged into water for 30 secs without a heads up! lol.

Saying that, can't really compare fish to people when is comes to respiration. Technically if they should stop their gill plates from collapsing out of water by developing re-inforcements then at least for a short while they would be able to 'breath' air.

Something I've always wanted to ask...do they sucker onto your hand/thumb when out of water?

 

[JenCliBee]

Bet it's not very nice though. Imagine being plunged into water for 30 secs without a heads up! lol.

Saying that, can't really compare fish to people when is comes to respiration. Technically if they should stop their gill plates from collapsing out of water by developing re-inforcements then at least for a short while they would be able to 'breath' air.

Something I've always wanted to ask...do they sucker onto your hand/thumb when out of water?

Ive had it happen, tbh there more interested in wriggling around and your trying to make sure they dont fall on the floor more than anythink lol

 

[mixmaster jay]

some plecs have nasty barbs too just infront of their pectoral fins bristlenoses especially

 

[JohnRossDele]

is it the same for all plecs, ie one species can survive outta water longer than another

 

[mixmaster jay]

nope they are all the same as far as i know

 

[JenCliBee]

is it the same for all plecs, ie one species can survive outta water longer than another

Ive had a brislenose jump out of a holding bowl while i stripped a tank don fully, he must have been out the water for 2-3 hours without me noticing, scopped him up and put him back into water and he is still alive upto now with the current owner, so they are very resiliant.

some plecs have nasty barbs too just infront of their pectoral fins bristlenoses especially

Yep and they can be nasty little things aswell

 

[mixmaster jay]

yeah they and they hurt too lol they have tiny hooks on the end of the barbs too just like a fish hook

 

[rachyray100]

Bet it's not very nice though. Imagine being plunged into water for 30 secs without a heads up! lol.

Saying that, can't really compare fish to people when is comes to respiration. Technically if they should stop their gill plates from collapsing out of water by developing re-inforcements then at least for a short while they would be able to 'breath' air.

Something I've always wanted to ask...do they sucker onto your hand/thumb when out of water?

my big sucker does suck my finger when i take him out. i take my plecos out by hand because their barbs gets stuck in the net lol

 

[Jonathangerous]

Being out of water for small periods of time is nothing for a well maintained loricariid. Most hypostomids (including ancistrinae--correct me if my taxonomy is wrong... it seems to change all the time) have the ability to uptake oxygen for short periods even when out of water. That hypancsitrus shown in the first pic is not going to be harmed in the least, save for a little scare.

Some hardcore pterygolichthyini/hypostomini, via both circumstantial and well documented evidence, have been known to survive out of water upward of several weeks to, at the very limit of these reports, a year or more.

 

[snowflake311]

Lots of catfish can take in air to breath. Watch this Clip about the Redtailed Cat. Really cool show.


Here is the Clip I am talking about.
Another Catfish taking in air to breath.

 

[tgo]

I don't know about plecos, but when I catch trout I try to minimize the amount of time they are out of water ( never more than 30 seconds). Some if not most fish should only be handled with wet hands since dry ones can take the protective slime away. Studies have shown that catch-and-release fish have an excellent chance of surivival if handled properly, so I think this fish has an even greater chance.