Plec Is A Funny Colour

[brownbread]

I noticed that my plec was a funny colour water stats are fnie he is attaching himslef to plants alot should i get another plec to keep him comapny? here the picis this normal couluring?

 

[WILDER]

What do you mean by a funny colour, you will have to explain more.

 

[brownbread]

I thik hes is upposed to be a darker yellow but i remeber hearing someone say the plecs acan blend in to their surroundings?

 

[KathyM]

Sounds like stress colouration, probably from going into an uncycled tank of nowhere near big enough size. Have you already moved him to a suitable tank after all the advice you got?

 

[brownbread]

Sounds like stress colouration, probably from going into an uncycled tank of nowhere near big enough size. Have you already moved him to a suitable tank after all the advice you got?

is a 90l tank not big enough?

 

[KathyM]

You've asked this before and been told, it's nowhere near big enough.

A good permanent tank for a common would be a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft, but that's only if they don't outgrow 18"-2ft. Some do outgrow that.

A plec will not grow to fit, so it's not like he'll just stay small in your tank, he'll become ill and stressed like he's showing now, and it will shorten his life. Plecs are also extremely messy fish, and will pollute your water in such a small tank.

Please consider either buying a much bigger tank or returning him for his sake.

 

[brownbread]

my lfs said i ciuld return him when he got 2 big

 

[KathyM]

How big is he now? What filtration are you running? And what are your water stats? That'll help us help you more.

 

[brownbread]

How big is he now? What filtration are you running? And what are your water stats? That'll help us help you more.

im upgrading to a fluval 105 filter he is 2 inches long

 

[KathyM]

He should be okay temporarily then size wise, but he'll probably grow at least an inch a month. Without your water stats it's really hard to guess what's causing him to be stressed. It could well be because you didn't cycle the tank before he went in. Has anyone you know got a cycled tank he could go in until your tank is ready? TBH I think you're better off returning him now, because the tank's probably still cycling and by the time you get him back, he'll be too big.

 

[Stone Warior]

90 gallons should be enough for a year or so. He will be fine, sometimes they are in diffrent shades

 

[KathyM]

It's not a 90g tank, it's a 90 litre tank. So no, it won't be okay for a year, sorry. Edited to add: I'm really sorry this looks like I'm coming down on you like a tonne of bricks. It's just I find it very frustrating that LFS continue to sell such unsuitable fish for small tanks like yours. I hope everything works out.

 

[Neo8223]

M Plec has exactly the same thing and its the same type by the looks of the pic. Every morning parts of the body look lighter than the other. By midday, the colour normally changes back and its fine. Plecs have pretty tough skin anyhow so i dont really think ur plec has any physical injuries. Young plecs sometimes however, do seem to loose their will to live through my experiene. If the plec is constantly hiding and not vacuuming the place, then there may be a problem.

My plecs about 8 inches now and its looking excellent!
The conditions are 72 US Gallon tank, 27 Celcius, loads of hiding spaces and a huge log (which the fish camouflages into when it sleeps.)
Slightly hard water i believe. No idea what PH, probs 7.5

 

[KathyM]

Neo the pale patches you describe which come and go are stress colouration. Obviously they can do it for different reasons and most plecs will display them periodically. However, a plec who is in constant stress colouration is an unhappy plec - sadly without brownbread posting his stats, noboy has any chance of working out why he's stressed. I would imagine it's because the tank wasn't cycled, but I wouldn't want to presume.

 

[Neo8223]

hmmn, thanx Heres a pic of my plec although its not exactly the best shot. Its resting on the wood and is pretty well camouflaged. But when it saw me, it slightly changed colour. Normally its dorsal fin is up always! It looks awesome!