Shy Plecs

[lagerlout]

Is all plecs so shy that they only come out at night? I have two common plecs in a community tank and i never see them....they are always up the back of the tank under the filter or behind the plants at the back end of the tank,ave tried to put there food at the front of the tank to get them to come out but nothing happens,so ave started to feed them at night hoping they are getting fed (putting food up the back) should i just keep doin this or is there anything else i can try? THOMAS.

 

[LisaLQ]

Are they in the 190l? They might be feeling a bit overwhelmed and lacking space - how big are they?

 

[lagerlout]

yes its a 190l the two of them are about 5"-6" ave had them for about 3 months i know they have grown very quickly do u think they should be in a bigger tank tank of there own? this has only happened in the last couple of weeks.

 

[LisaLQ]

Maybe not yet, but they will need one in the future - as they get to 12-18" and grow fast Once they hit 10-12" they slow down a bit - the main growth is in the first year or so. Min tank size for commons is 4ft x 18" x 18", but with two it might be worth going up to 5ft - although I'm sure you could get away with 4 if you kept a really tight maintenance regime and good filtration.

But really, all plecs are nocturnal - I've noticed more so in my smaller common plec - but he's just hit around the same size as yours, and started coming out more through the day. You'll probably find as they settle in and get into a routine, they'll come out more often. My bigger ones come out through the day for food now, they just needed to settle in

 

[paul_219]

Maybe they are shy from u. They didnt get use to the tank or with the fish with them.

 

[lagerlout]

Ave recenty turned my water down to 25-26C it was up at 28-29C do u think this could have caused it?

 

[Shadow~Fox]

When I had my common red spot pleco I had to go hunting for him just to know that he hasn’t died. He was always hiding under the bog wood. So one day I came home with a large school of 11 Zebra Danios and now he is always sitting on top of the bog wood instead of under it! So add some sort of active fish to the tank and it might help. You may just have a shy pleco.