Bulldog pleco - hiding

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

Megan2022

New Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2022
Messages
30
Reaction score
11
Location
UK
I bought a bulldog pleco the other day and I'm pretty certain I put him in the tank... Haven't seen him since, literally can't find him in any nook and cranny. Now I'm worried he's jumped out and my cats had him for a snack!

Any known way to entice a pleco out of hiding just so I can check he's OK and actually in the tank?

I've put a piece of blanched cucumber in but it's gone untouched.
 
I bought a bulldog pleco the other day and I'm pretty certain I put him in the tank... Haven't seen him since, literally can't find him in any nook and cranny. Now I'm worried he's jumped out and my cats had him for a snack!

Any known way to entice a pleco out of hiding just so I can check he's OK and actually in the tank?

I've put a piece of blanched cucumber in but it's gone untouched.
turn the light out
 
He might be scared. Do you have lots of cover in your tank? Like plants? And do you have any wood? I know Bristlenose plecos need wood. Mine spends all his time on it.

Maybe just give him a couple of days!
 
Very common for fish to hide when in a new tank, and even more normal for plecos which are naturally elusive! They don't really bury themselves beneath substrate, they are excellent at finding good hiding spots though! I have two L181 plecos and know the favourite hiding spot for one of them, but the other I have no idea where she typically hides, only see her when she appears for meals! So I wouldn't be surprised at all for a pleco to hide away in a new home - it would be way more unusual for it not to hide, I promise!

Try dropping a pleco wafer or some veg into the tank just before the usual lights out, and sit where you're close enough to see, but not so close as to spook 'em, and watch for a while, see if he appears. But it's also not unusual for fish not to be hungry for a few days in a new environment, and plecos can go for quite a while without food, so don't be alarmed if he doesn't appear when you try this either. Don't leave uneaten food in there for too long, since it doesn't take long for it t begin releasing ammonia and can cause an ammonia spike, so remove it after a hour or two if untouched.

Photo of the tank? Can point out some likely hidey spots! They do need some real driftwood in their tank to aid their digestion, so make sure you have some/get some ASAP. As a last resort you could gently move decor and see if you can find him in the tank, make sure he's not stuck in any decor (some fake decor can pose a risk of trapping a fish) but this is unlikely and not ideal to stress a fish out like that by searching for them, and moving into a new home is already stressful. So if you do try this, make it only a last resort, and try to do it gently and calmly, and back off and leave him be once you spot him!
 
The Chaetostoma I had was 99,9 % carnivorious and never took a bite from vegs thrown in. Try something meatier.

Also all these fish are wildcaught. If it was me caught from a river I wouldn't show up in a tank either.

 
The Chaetostoma I had was 99,9 % carnivorious and never took a bite from vegs thrown in. Try something meatier.

Also all these fish are wildcaught. If it was me caught from a river I wouldn't show up in a tank either.

I knew I should have looked up what kinda of pleco/diet requirements, doh, but I was lazy :lol:
 
Many years ago I had an undergravel filter. I put one of the Banjo catfish species in - 3 of them. 6 months later, I spotted them looking just fine - way bigger and very healthy. Over about three years, I saw them maybe 7 times. I cleaned out the tank and sold them in a fish club auction, with a warning label about their shyness. I never saw them again...
 
Not meand to proof you wrong.
Most info tells they need vegs / are herbivores.
I think most live on tiny creatures in between the algae / aufwuchs.

No worries, I definitely want to be corrected when I get something wrong! Both so I learn more as well as helping the OP :) Was just kicking myself a little because I know that some plecs are more herbivorous and others need meatier diets, and some switch as they age even, so I told myself I should google what kinda diet this one has, but was in a hurry and comment was already long, so I was lazy :lol: I mainly wanted to stress that hiding is the natural state of plecos and I'm happy anytime I spot a tail... :lol:
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top